Articles

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling has made it harder for cities to use racial demographics as a primary factor in drawing district and ward maps, even when those decisions were intended to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

Housing has been a growing focus for Georgia cities and for GMA. At the association's May 1 Board of Directors meeting in College Park, GMA staff outlined the organization's policy work and efforts to document what cities are doing on housing, and board members from six cities shared what's happening in their own communities.

GMA's Larry Hanson and Georgia Association of Realtors CEO Brad Mock came at Georgia's shortage of 60,000 housing units from different angles at a Georgia Chamber Foundation meeting recently, but agreed that the problem runs deeper than the most common explanations suggest.

After two decades of decline following a highway project that wiped out an entire downtown block, Homerville is rebuilding — and a community-driven planning process is turning vacant storefronts into gathering spaces, new businesses and $5 million in added property value.

Years of deliberate planning and partnerships with the Georgia Municipal Association, state agencies and regional partners are paying off for Downtown Leesburg — four new businesses have opened, festivals are drawing record crowds, and aging buildings are getting new life.