Housing needs do not stop at a county line.
A person may work in Fulton, live in Clayton and consider moving to Cobb. Each local government controls its own zoning and development decisions, but those decisions collectively determine whether metro-Atlanta produces enough housing for the people who live and work here.
The Atlanta Regional Commission is now trying to give those governments a shared direction.
On Sept. 2, ARC previewed Housing Forward 2035, a regional strategy developed with HR&A Advisors through surveys, focus groups, an advisory group and a regional housing summit.
Its goals are specific: build 367,000 homes by 2035, preserve 104,000 affordable homes at risk of being lost and create housing on 10 percent of the approximately 106,500 vacant or underused parcels identified across the 11-county region.
The plan does not replace local decision-making. It gives the region a common set of numbers and a framework for working toward them.
The affordability gap now has a number
ARC estimates that metro Atlanta will need 117,000 additional homes affordable to households earning less than $55,000 a year by 2035.
If current development patterns continue, approximately 28,000 are expected to be produced.
That leaves an 89,000-home gap.
Housing Forward 2035 proposes increasing production for that income group fourfold while preserving 104,000 existing affordable homes. The goal is to reduce the affordability gap by half by 2035.
The employment forecast helps explain the urgency. Approximately 70 percent of the jobs expected to be created in the region through 2035 will fall within low to moderate-income ranges,$40,000-$80,000. Adding jobs without adding housing those workers can afford would increase commute times, transportation costs and pressure on existing lower-cost neighborhoods.
How a regional plan works when housing decisions are local
ARC does not approve re-zonings or issue building permits. Those decisions remain with city councils, county commissions and local planning departments.
Housing Forward 2035 is designed to help those governments work from the same regional data while choosing the policies that fit their communities.
The strategy proposes county-level housing goals and a Regional Housing Dashboard tracking production, preservation and affordability. That would allow local officials and residents to compare what is needed with what is being delivered.
ARC is also developing a Housing Ready Community certification and toolkit to help governments evaluate zoning, permitting and other barriers to housing. Another proposed action would examine how ARC’s transportation and land-use programs can better support communities that connect housing with jobs, transit and infrastructure.
Other parts of the strategy call for working with development authorities, housing organizations, employers, universities and philanthropic groups to expand funding and identify properties that could support housing.
The approach recognizes that no single agency controls enough land, money or policy to solve the shortage alone.
Atlanta projects show how different tools can contribute
Recent projects covered by ATL Vibes and Views show what that collaboration can look like on individual sites.
At Trinity Central Flats, Invest Atlanta retained ownership of public land and leased it for 99 years to support 218 income-restricted apartments across from City Hall. The project combines public land, housing bonds, tax credits, city funding and private development experience.
At Woodrow House, a development-authority arrangement supports approximately 65 income-restricted and workforce apartments within a larger 325-home development near the Beltline.
The Atlanta Beltline reports that it has created or preserved 4,425 affordable homes within its tax allocation district, reaching 79 percent of its 5,600-unit goal.
These projects use different combinations of public land, tax incentives, income restrictions and private financing. Housing Forward 2035 would give regional partners a way to measure how those individual efforts contribute to the larger need.
What is different from the region’s last strategy
ARC released the Metro Atlanta Housing Strategy in 2019. It identified many of the same tools, including building more housing, preserving existing affordable homes, reducing development barriers and reusing publicly owned or vacant land.
That strategy was created as a guide rather than a set of production targets.
Housing Forward 2035 adds measurable regional and county-level goals, a proposed public dashboard and a clearer implementation structure. It also connects housing more directly to transportation planning, employment and regional growth.
The strategy has not yet received final adoption. ARC is scheduled to present its remaining components in October, followed by a board vote in November 2026.
Putting a number on the housing gap is an important step because it gives every participating agency the same starting point. ARC brings regional data and planning. Cities and counties control zoning and public land. Housing authorities and development agencies can assemble financing. Developers build the homes. Employers, nonprofits and philanthropic organizations can help expand resources and connect housing to the people who need it. The next stage is turning those roles into a coordinated system. The November vote, the launch of the dashboard and the first communities participating in the Housing Ready program will show how that collaboration begins moving from a regional strategy into local projects.
Metro Atlanta has identified the scale of the need. Housing Forward 2035 is an attempt to organize the people and tools required to respond.
