Box 8, Folder 16, Document 40

Box 8, Folder 16, Document 40

Atlanta, Georgia
Part Ill, Page N6
February 17, 1967

Citizens Advisory Committee for Urban Renewal



An aggressive and effective force for citizen participation in urban
renewal and associate activities is the Citizens Advisory Committee
for Urban Renewal, Authorized by resolution of the Board of
Aldermen, this committee has a membership of some 80 citizens,
appointed by the mayor, The membership represents all sections
of the city and the various economic strata of business and
professional life, Special care is taken to have at least 40 per cent
of the membership from the minority race,

Ever since Atlanta became actively engaged in urban renewal, this
citizens committee has been very forceful in broadening public
understanding of the aims and actions in the various projects, It

has subcommittees specifically assigned to each point in the city's
workable program. A special subcommittee has worked closely with
the Community Improvement Program since its inception. The
Citizens Advisory Committee as a whole headed up a campaign which
played a leading role in strengthening the city's housing code enforce-
ment program to meet workable program requirements, The full
committee meets four times a year,

At the first meeting of each year, the mayor outlines his plans for

the year in urban renewal and housing, as was done in January of

the present year, The executive committee meets during each of the
other months of the year, At its February meeting the executive
committee centered its program on the plans for the city's application
to be included in the model neighborhood demonstration program,

To obtain fuller citizen participation in each new urban renewal project
added to the Atlanta program, the main Chairman of the Citizens
Advisory Committee appoints an associate committee in the project
area, Chairman of this associate committee meets regularly with
the full committee and the executive committee, The committee's
executive director meets with the associate committees and attends
citizens meetings in the project areas,

The committee conducts citizen tours of present urban renewal projects
and areas being considered for future projects, Groups from 40 to 75
citizens are thus given a first hand view of slum conditions, These
tours are conducted all through the year, averaging at least one a month,
During the first two months of 1967, such different groups as two
Georgia Tech classes, a Georgia State college class, the
provisional members of the Atlanta Junior League and a women's
club in an area adjacent to the model neighborhood target area were
taken on tours by the Citizens Advisory Committee in conjunction
with the Atlanta Housing Authority which is the city's agent for urban
renewal,

The Citizens Advisory Committee is supported by public contributions
and a matching fund from the city. It is staffed by an executive
director, who is a former TIME and LIFE staff writer of 25 years
experience and a secretary, The chairmanis Robert L. Sommerville,
president of the Atlanta Transit Company, and one of Atlanta's topmost
civic leaders,