Mayor Andre Dickens Introduces “Opportunity for All: The Neighborhood Reinvestment Act”

Mayor Dickens Introduces "Opportunity for All: The Neighborhood Reinvestment Act"

Sweeping Legislative Package Establishes New Accountability Standards, Anti-Displacement Protections, and Historic Investment Framework for Atlanta's Most Underserved Neighborhoods

ATLANTA-Mayor Andre Dickens announced the introduction of the "Opportunity for All: The Neighborhood Reinvestment Act," the most comprehensive neighborhood investment and anti-displacement legislative package in the City's history. The package establishes a new framework for measuring the success of public investment not by what gets built, but by whether residents' lives measurably improve as a result.

The legislation includes six integrated components: a new NRI Impact Framework, the extension of six Tax Allocation Districts, creation of a City Council-controlled NRI Trust Fund, reauthorization of the Invest Atlanta intergovernmental agreement, reforms to TAD Advisory Committees, and an Anti-Displacement Playbook containing more than 20 ordinances and resolutions designed to protect legacy residents and businesses.

The package is designed to directly address long-standing disparities across South and West Atlanta neighborhoods, where gaps in housing stability, educational attainment, economic mobility, food access, public safety and health outcomes continue to shape life expectancy and opportunity.

"This is about whether the people who stayed through decades of disinvestment get to stay long enough to benefit from the prosperity that is finally arriving," said Mayor Andre Dickens. "The first generation of TADs helped transform Atlanta physically, but this legislation recognizes that growth alone is not enough. We are building a new model where every public dollar must connect to measurable outcomes: safer neighborhoods, stable housing, stronger schools, expanded opportunity and pathways to wealth creation for the families who call these communities home."

The legislative package formalizes the City's new NRI Impact Framework, which organizes all investments around three pillars: displacement prevention, neighborhood stabilization and wealth creation. Every TAD investment, Trust Fund award, and publicly supported redevelopment project in NRI neighborhoods must demonstrate measurable alignment with those outcomes.

A legislative overview, legislation and impact framework can be found here.

"Talking isn't enough if we don't have policies, practices and infrastructure, and so what I think the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative does is literally put our money where our mouths have been. NRI becomes that first step to putting something in place that reflects intentionality and manifest the beloved community, it's an invitation to imagine a better city and to build that city," said Dr. Bernice A. King.

"This legislation fundamentally changes how Atlanta measures success," said Courtney English, Chief of Staff for the City of Atlanta. "For too long, cities across America have measured progress by cranes, ribbon cuttings and rising property values while failing to ask whether residents themselves were better off. This framework requires us to answer harder questions. Did student mobility decline? Did early learning access improve? Did legacy residents remain in place? Did families build wealth? Every dollar invested must now track back to those outcomes and be reported publicly and transparently."

The package also incorporates the Administration's response to the City Auditor's forthcoming review of Atlanta's Tax Allocation Districts by strengthening redevelopment planning requirements, establishing third-party performance reviews, creating public dashboards and tying investments directly to measurable community outcomes.

"Having previously represented District 11, I know firsthand the resilience, history, and strength of many of the communities this initiative is designed to support," said City Council President Marci Collier Overstreet. "What makes this package significant is that it recognizes investment must come with accountability, transparency and protections for the residents who have remained committed to their neighborhoods through decades of disinvestment."

"This legislation is ultimately about whether growth reaches the people who have waited the longest to share in Atlanta's prosperity," said Councilmember Michael Julian Bond. "For decades, communities in South and West Atlanta have heard promises about investment. This package creates the accountability structure to ensure that investment is finally tied to measurable improvements in people's lives - from housing stability and educational opportunity to economic mobility and community wealth creation."

The Anti-Displacement Playbook includes measures addressing tenant protections, preservation of affordable housing, heirs property assistance, home repair funding, commercial stabilization, community ownership opportunities and support for legacy businesses and anchor institutions.

"In District 10, neighborhoods like Adamsville have spent decades watching resources flow around them instead of toward them," said Councilmember Andrea L. Boone. "This package is important because it recognizes that investment alone is not enough. We must also protect families from displacement, strengthen schools and neighborhood infrastructure, and create pathways for residents to build wealth and remain rooted in the communities they helped sustain."

"As an APS graduate and a lifelong resident of South Atlanta, this work is deeply personal to me," said Councilmember Antonio Lewis. "I know firsthand the talent, resilience, and potential that exists in these neighborhoods. This legislation is about making sure young people growing up in communities like the ones that raised me have access to safe neighborhoods, stable housing, quality schools, and real economic opportunity without being pushed out of the city they call home."

Under the proposal, six existing Tax Allocation Districts - Campbellton, Metropolitan, Stadium, Hollowell/MLK, Westside, and Eastside - would be extended for 30 years, unlocking significant long-term bonding capacity for affordable housing, infrastructure, economic development, transit and neighborhood stabilization investments.

"Communities on the Westside have carried both the burden of historic disinvestment and the promise of Atlanta's future," said Councilmember Byron Amos. "Residents in these neighborhoods deserve more than piecemeal investment. They deserve a comprehensive strategy that addresses housing, safety, economic opportunity, educational outcomes and quality of life together while ensuring the people who stayed through the hardest years are able to benefit from the progress ahead."

"Campbellton Road has carried the weight of disinvestment for generations while residents continued to fight for their community and believe in its future," said Councilmember Wayne Martin. "This legislation creates an opportunity to finally match the resilience of these neighborhoods with sustained investment, stronger infrastructure, affordable housing and economic opportunity that allows longtime residents to remain and thrive as the corridor grows."

The legislation also establishes a new NRI Trust Fund targeted toward Atlanta's most economically distressed neighborhoods using Invest Atlanta's Economic Mobility Index. All projects funded through the Trust Fund must align with the NRI Impact Framework and will be subject to public reporting and independent review.

The legislative package will be introduced before the Atlanta City Council on May 18 and proceed through committee hearings and public engagement before final consideration.

About the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative

The Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative (NRI) is the City of Atlanta's long-term strategy to address historic inequities through coordinated investments in housing, economic mobility, youth opportunity, infrastructure, public safety, and community stabilization. The NRI Impact Framework establishes a citywide accountability structure designed to ensure that public investment leads to measurable improvements in quality of life for residents in historically underserved communities.