Atlanta’s popularity continues to grow. 

These past few years have seen an increase in people coming to the city, which affects housing. According to the Rental Housing Affordability in the Southeast report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, more than two-thirds of low-income renters pay over 30% of their income. Housing — for most people in Atlanta — is unaffordable. 

Plans for Atlanta’s BeltLine were introduced in 1999 and promised affordable housing. Many protested the idea of its affordability. As of 2022, government records show that Atlanta’s average income per capita is $77,655. The average apartment within a mile of the BeltLine is $1,848 dollars, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle The average rent in other places within Atlanta’s city limits is $1,584, according to Apartments.com. 

Many organizations have proposed policies to protect residents from these increasing prices. House ATL and Housing Justice League have pitched policies to ensure affordability for Atlanta residents. Both organizations build policies that ensure long-term land ownership for people, tenant and homeowner protection, and financial support for low-income groups. But so far, these recommendations have not been heeded.

The mayor of Atlanta plans to combat the housing problem by building more affordable housing units. According to a press release from November of this year, Mayor Andre Dickens aims to build 2,000 units by 2032, and as of August, “roughly 600 units” have been built. However, given the history of Atlanta’s BeltLine and other affordable housing plans, people doubt how affordable this housing will be.

In addition to the financial burden, there is an issue of corporate landlords. Dr. Taylor Shelton, an assistant professor at Georgia State University landlords, told 11Alive, “These companies own tens of thousands of properties in a relatively select set of neighborhoods, which allows them to exercise significant market power over tenants.“ According to Bloomberg, the author of The Red Hot City, Dan Immergluck, expressed an additional layer of the housing problem. Immergluck says that there are few policies to combat these companies that exercise excessive power over their tenants, and “while exorbitant house prices are typically the result of market forces, Atlanta can blame many of its own policy decisions over the last 20 years.” 

Eshé Collins, a member of the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) board for District 6, says, ”The students are ready,” when asked whether teens are prepared for the housing market. But she sees the issue as a bigger economic problem. 

Collins added, “What we can do on that end is to advocate and continue to work in partnership with local and state leaders to push not only affordability but also to fight to ensure that we are providing a livable wage.”

Many students, like Precious Davis, 18, agree that there is a problem with equipping students for life after school. She believes the curriculum lacks “real talk,” like her financial algebra class. She says, “APS has not prepared [me] for life after high school.” 

Kaylen Riley, 17, a senior at Stephson High School, also agrees that there is a problem with equipping students for the reality of our world. She suggests adding more classes to further prepare students for college instead of having classes that just “dumb down” topics. She also encourages APS to have curriculums about parenthood and other serious topics. 

Kaylen and Precious both express their issues with the current life-skill classes in APS and encourage the school systems to prepare students using more realism when discussing the current state of the world, especially our city. Not only that, but more practical knowledge should be added to school curricula that emphasize more serious topics. 

Unaffordable living options can lead to homelessness, not only in adults but in college and grade school students.  According to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program, during the 2023-2024 school year, 30% of high school students, 19% of middle school students, and 51% of elementary students were identified as unhoused students throughout the APS District.