Langston Park: Building a connected community in Sylvan Hills
The 40th Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project built something special in Atlanta’s Sylvan Hills neighborhood. Learn what’s different about Langston Park and see how it transformed over the five days of the Carter Work Project.
Langston Park takes shape
About the neighborhood
Sylvan Hills is a historic neighborhood located in southwest Atlanta. While the community has a long history in Atlanta, it also embodies the ideals of sustainable urbanism, like walkability and access to public transit.
Langston Park is located near the Lakewood-Ft. McPherson and Oakland City MARTA stations, and is also near the Atlanta Beltline Southwest Trail, which offers residents walking paths and green spaces.
Why Sylvan Hills?
According to the Sylvan Hills Neighborhood Association:
Sylva, Latin for “forest”, describes the dense tree canopy that shades the streets and homes of Sylvan Hills. Once part of the Perkerson and Gilbert land holdings that are believed to date to 1831, Sylvan Hills as a neighborhood was established around 1920 during a post-WWI building boom.
Neighborhood banner via the Sylvan Hills Neighborhood Association.
1976 map of Sylvan Hills via Georgia State University.
Designed for community
With the Langston Park development, Atlanta Habitat is demonstrating what’s possible in affordable housing while addressing the unique challenges of today’s housing market.
Maximizing land use
Land is at a premium in Atlanta, posing challenges not only for price but also for access. As Atlanta Habitat CEO Rosalyn Merrick explained to WABE,
“That has to drive a strategy around, ‘OK, well, if there’s less land that we can access, then we have to be really ever more intentional about the best possible use for that land.’ And one of the strategies is higher density.”
Housing density is the ratio of homes to land in a given area. In the case of Langston Park, the development has been intentionally designed to maximize density with a mix of single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes, which will provide affordable homes to 68 families once completed. This is the first time Atlanta Habitat has incorporated townhomes into a development, illustrating the possibilities for future infill housing in the area.
The beauty of it is that you‘re able to maximize the land that’s in that particular community … to turn it into a viable resource that actually brings life to that community. When looking at large-scale development, it allows you to invest in a way where you can leverage your dollars more efficiently.
Plan for Langston Park neighborhood showing mix of home sizes, along with walking paths and greenspace.
Connected community
Langston Park isn’t just providing more opportunities for affordable homeownership to people who once thought it was out of reach; it’s also designed to connect neighbors with each other and the wider city. Walking paths and greenspaces encourage neighbors to get outside and meet each other, while proximity to both MARTA and the Atlanta Beltline provides more families with access to recreation, education and employment opportunities. That in turn allows the residents to thrive, opening the door to stability and connection.
Let's Open the Door
Home is the foundation on which we build our lives. But every day 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe affordable housing. Habitat has helped people around the world build, improve or finance places to call home for more than 50 years. Together with supporters like you, we’ve built a mission — and a movement.
