Affordable housing has become a hot topic in recent years as rental prices have risen while wage growth has lagged. An October 2015 report by Georgia Tech’s Dan Immergluck, a professor in the School of City and Regional Planning, found that 95 percent of rental units built between 2012 and 2014 were luxury apartments. The same report finds a decline in affordable, low-cost units.

Immergluck praised the mayor for calling on Fulton to address the affordability issue, but noted “even the 10 percent set aside by Invest Atlanta is a bit on the low side, especially for the large luxury high-rises that have received substantial subsidy.”