Atlanta’s most recent comprehensive development plan (CDP), titled Plan A, was adopted in 2021. Plan A was the first CDP in the City’s history to advance the vision of Atlanta City Design, which was incorporated into the City Charter in 2017. In the years since, Atlanta’s post-pandemic population growth has again reached record numbers. In a break from decades of suburban dominance, Atlanta outpaced growth in the suburbs in 2022 and 2023. More people are calling Atlanta home, and that trend shows no signs of slowing.

With this growth anticipated to bring a surge of new development, Atlanta needed a clearer, more practical planning framework. The City’s existing approach—using both Character Area and Future Land Use planning—was multi-layered, confusing, and increasingly difficult to align with Atlanta City Design. It also risked being technically challenging to administer once the City’s new Zoning Ordinance is adopted.

With this in mind, the City of Atlanta hired a consultant team led by TSW in 2022 to guide a years-long effort to modernize and simplify the City’s planning framework. The result was a new land use approach based on Development Patterns, which reflect the physical form and long-established land use mixes across Atlanta. These patterns are more intuitive, working at the block, lot, and building level to illustrate how growth should look and feel. Importantly, they also strengthen the connections between land use and other planning elements like transportation, housing, economic development, climate resilience, and historic preservation.

The updated Plan A also sets out bold priorities:

Together, these elements provide a framework for guiding growth that is inclusive, actionable, and resilient, while aligning seamlessly with Atlanta City Design and the new Zoning Ordinance. Looking ahead, the next phase of work will involve incorporating the adopted Zoning Ordinance into the Development Patterns and implementing a robust small area planning program, enabling neighborhoods to create tailored plans that can be more easily incorporated into the CDP—ensuring that every community has a voice in shaping Atlanta’s future.