Affordable housing is in short supply across the US. Atlanta may have found a way forward

Mayor Andre Dickens is turning to Atlanta's own land and resources to create new development opportunities

Shortly after his election as mayor of Atlanta in 2021, Andre Dickens realized one of his core campaign promises - to create 20,000 new units of affordable housing - might be hard to keep. Estimates from his staff showed the city would fall more than 4,000 units short.

His options seemed limited. The low-income housing tax credit supports the building or restoration of much affordable housing in America, but the federal tax incentive is curbed by volume caps each year, and voters are often skeptical of other potential sources of funding, such as bonds.