Comprehensive Plan 10-Year Update
City of Brookhaven
Economic Strategy
The City of Brookhaven was founded just over 10 years ago, in December 2012 by voter referendum to become DeKalb County's 11th city. Since the development of its inaugural Comprehensive Plan in 2014, the City has implemented several key initiatives and investments, advancing the community’s vision for its future. Brookhaven is the largest city in the county, and is part of the Metro Atlanta region.
The 2034 Comprehensive Plan (2014) and its update in 2019 have guided the growth and development across the City for the past decade, including quality of life efforts like expansion of the Peachtree Creek Greenway, establishing a Town Center, and advancing public art, as well as major land use decisions to spur economic growth, including investment in and around Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta campus and Emory at Executive Park. As the city looks back on the last ten years of progress, it now must prepare for continued population growth while focusing on enhancing overall wellbeing. Priorities include creating a sense of community and connection between neighborhoods and population centers, preserving and increasing workforce and missing middle housing, expanded community identity-building and branding, more arts and cultural offerings, enhanced public health through preserving and expanding the city’s lush tree canopy, and considering improvements to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to better connect to the MARTA public transit network.
Our Approach
Fourth Economy supported the process by leading the Housing and Economic Development components of the plan. This included analyzing community makeup through demographic data analysis, homeownership and cost burden assessment, and looking at employment, entrepreneurship, and industry trends. We also conducted interviews with key economic development and real estate leaders, business owners, and employers to understand economic development priorities for the city. We supported focus groups on affordable housing with housing experts, real estate development with local and regional developers, and community engagement sessions with residents.
The Results
Key strategies and recommendations coming out of our analysis include the need for a new, guiding comprehensive economic development strategy, developed in close partnership with the business community and employers; advancing more live-work opportunities especially around nodes of economic activity; preserving and expanding safe, affordable, workforce housing; and enhancing the City’s support to entrepreneurs and small businesses to help combat commercial gentrification.
Brookhaven City Council unanimously approved the plan in October 2024, touting it as “user friendly,” and celebrating the city’s focus on housing diversification and equity.
Location
Brookhaven, GA