Community leaders and residents from Dalton arranged a listening session a few months ago to discuss the present housing needs in the area. This pivotal gathering aims to collect insights about their housing preferences and briefing from a recent housing study. Jake Bearden, Whitfield County’s community development coordinator, stressed the importance of everyone’s input in defining the city’s housing needs and desires through interactive activities involving participants by writing their concerns and responses on post-it notes.

Allyson Coker, BGD Director, presented an analysis from the study which emphasizes its progress since 2018 but also mentioned some issues like the rising rental rates, diverse range of housing options and aging housing stocks. To address these challenges, they are developing strategies to expand housing choice, revitalize neighborhoods, increase affordability, and continue downtown development. The meeting concluded with a call to action to value community involvement and state funding opportunities for housing projects which requires a collaborative effort from everybody. Future sessions will be organized soon.