Five metro programs receive assistance from Atlanta Regional Commission

The Atlanta Regional Commission recently announced it will support programs in five metro communities.

The commission will provide planning and technical support through its Community Development Assistance Program. ARC will provide staffing resources and grants to the selected communities to help residents improve their quality of life, an announcement said.

Each project was competitively chosen with the help of local governments, community improvement districts and nonprofits. Applicants were evaluated based on eight regional priority issues including access to healthy food, housing affordability, smart technology and workforce development, the announcement said.

“Planning a bright future for everyone in our region means working to rectify past planning decisions that negatively impacted marginalized communities,” said Sam Shenbaga, managing director of the Community Development Group at ARC. “These projects will help to work towards that goal by prioritizing equitable, community-based planning processes and outcomes.”

Projects receiving ARC support:

• Cascade Heights Greenway Network Plan: The ARC staff will work with the Cascade Springs Nature Conservancy to work on a network of eight multi-modal greenway corridors.
• Cobb County Housing Study: ARC staff will work with Cobb County to assess the county’s housing and develop a plan to support the growing population.
• Gwinnett County Safe and Equitable Multimodal Access Study and the Mountain Park Commercial Revitalization Plan: Gwinnett County will receive a $250,000 project grant to assist in developing a multimodal access study in the Lilburn area, and a revitalization plan for an intersection in Mountain Park.
• Henry County Housing Study: Henry County and the Georgia Institute of Technology will partner to study homelessness and services for low-income households.
• Villa Rica Placemaking and Alleyway Activation Plan: The city of Villa Rica and the Georgia Conservancy will work to develop a program for placemaking, including places for art, and greenway infrastructure.