Housing Study: Douglasville, Georgia

A Georgia Conservancy-supported Housing Study of Douglasville

Throughout late 2020 and early 2021, the Georgia Conservancy supported the Atlanta Regional Commission on the development of a housing study for the City of Douglasville.  

Douglasville is a historic railroad town situated about 20 miles west of downtown Atlanta in Douglas County and is well-known for its charming character and livability. In recent years, Douglas County has emerged as an industrial hub for the region, bringing a surge of job opportunities to residents; this large-scale economic progress combined with the motivation to foster a vibrant downtown retail district prompted the need for a data-driven housing analysis that could chart a course for city leadership to achieve that future. 

Georgia Conservancy assisted the Atlanta Regional Commission team through its Community Development Assistance Program, an annual program that provides mid-sized cities with technical assistance and monetary support for local projects that focus on a variety of issues, including affordable housing. Georgia Conservancy staff served on the steering committee for the project, contributing to demographic data analysis, investigations of the City’s existing housing stock, and recommendation generation.  

Throughout the project, Douglasville stakeholders expressed concerns about how housing, especially new construction, could negatively impact the community’s historic character. Our Sustainable Growth program staff drew on our past work in historic communities—including Newton County, Brunswick, and Paulding County—as examples of how recommendations could be implemented in ways that reinforce and even augment the reasons why people love to live in Douglasville. These case studies provided narrative and visual reference points for residents, city leaders, and future Douglasvillians to follow as their city evolves. 

Click here to read the Douglasville Housing Assessment report, prepared by the Atlanta Regional Commission for their Douglasville Community Development Assistance Program.

Questions? Reach out to Georgia Conservancy Senior Planner Nick Johnson at njohnson@gaconservnacy.org