Community Development

The Atlanta Regional Commission has developed a range of programs and initiatives designed to make the Atlanta region an even better place to live, work and play – for people of all ages and abilities. These efforts will help the region maintain a high quality of life, even as our population continues to grow and change.

Livable Centers Initiative (LCI)

Provides local jurisdictions with grants to re-envision their communities as vibrant, walkable places that offer increased mobility options and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP)

Offers planning and technical support to metro Atlanta communities that want to improve their quality of life.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)

Fosters economic prosperity across metro Atlanta with an emphasis on equity, resiliency, and addressing the needs of underserved communities.

Metro Atlanta Housing Strategy

Enables local governments to explore solutions to their housing affordability challenges through actionable strategies.

Developments of Regional Impact (DRI)

ARC reviews large-scale developments and other projects to identify and assess potential impacts before conflicts arise.

Culture & Community Design Program

Convenes artists, culture bearers, and planning and design professionals to develop arts and culture-focused community design projects with community organizations.

Livable Centers Initiative: Investing in the Region’s Future

Since 2000, the LCI program has invested over $312 million in more than 130 communities throughout the Atlanta region, helping pay for planning studies and the construction of transportation projects such as sidewalks and intersection improvements, to bring those visions to life.

Communities that have completed an LCI study are eligible to apply for funding for transportation projects that support the goals of their study and the program as a whole. Funding for LCI transportation projects comes through ARC’s Transportation Improvement Program.

The LCI program is funded with federal transportation dollars. The grants cover 80% of the cost of each study or transportation project, with the recipient making a 20% match.

LCI Program Goals

Encourage a diversity of housing, employment, commercial, shopping and recreation land uses accessible by people of all ages, abilities, and income levels.
Provide access to a range of travel modes including transit, roadways, walking and biking.
Foster public-private partnerships and sustained community through a stakeholder engagement process that includes those historically underserved or underrepresented.
Encourage mixed-income residential neighborhoods, employment, shopping, and recreation options.