ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms along with Invest Atlanta said Thursday that they are adopting a new plan to help the city's low-income residents with affordable housing and access to jobs in a measure geared toward overall economic growth across the city.
The recently completed effort, called the One Atlanta Economic Mobility, Recovery & Resilience Plan, works toward crafting better economic outcomes for the city's low-income residents, particularly in areas of Atlanta where high instances of poverty and unemployment exist.
“Many Atlanta residents continue to face long-term challenges with sustainable, living-wage-level employment, affordable housing, and other unacceptable inequalities,” Bottoms said in a statement on Thursday.
The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have only served to expose an even greater economic divide in the city that the plan will help to overcome, according to the statement.
"It is another major step towards Atlanta becoming a truly affordable, resilient, and equitable city for all," Bottoms said.
Development of the One Atlanta Economic Mobility, Recovery & Resilience Plan first began more than a year ago to maintain a solid economic growth strategy that included all residents of the city, the mayor's office said.
The plan was developed by Invest Atlanta with the support of the Atlanta City Council, a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee and consultants, including Enterprise Community Partners, Urban League of Greater Atlanta, APD Urban, and Bloomberg Associates.
“At this unprecedented time, Atlanta needs an intentional, data-driven way to address economic mobility and accelerate an equitable recovery from COVID-19," said Invest Atlanta CEO Dr. Eloisa Klementich.
According to the release, the plan addresses five core objectives, including the Creation of Good Jobs, Access to Good Jobs, Small Businesses, Neighborhood Investment, and Affordable Housing, and 34 specific actions to promote economic growth as outlined in the plan.
Bottoms' office says implementation of the plan will begin during September 2020.