Blueprint for Belonging: How Westside Future Fund Protects Legacy Residents

Community development isn’t just about bricks and mortar.

It’s about people, honoring legacy, addressing structural inequities, and building trust block by block, relationship by relationship. Few places reflect that truth more than Atlanta’s historic Westside.

In this episode of Create the Village, guest host Shannon Judd, President of Integral Property Management, sits down with Rachel Carey, Chief Real Estate Officer at Westside Future Fund. Together they explore how one mission-driven organization is reimagining community development as a vehicle for justice, inclusion, and long-term stewardship. From tackling heirs’ property challenges to pioneering anti-displacement strategies, Westside Future Fund is demonstrating what it means to build with the community, not just in it.

What you’ll hear:

• How Westside Future Fund’s Anti-Displacement Tax Fund is helping legacy homeowners remain rooted in their neighborhoods.

• Why heirs’ property and tangled titles are critical barriers to generational wealth — and how to resolve them.

• The role of partnerships in delivering 1,500 units of deeply affordable housing while fostering mixed-income communities.

• Why community trust, patience, and consistency are the foundations of durable revitalization.

• A blueprint for belonging: development that protects cultural identity and ensures residents have the choice to stay.

About Our Guest:

Rachel Carey is the Chief Real Estate Officer at Westside Future Fund, where she leads efforts to revitalize Atlanta’s historic Westside through affordable housing, anti-displacement initiatives, and community stewardship. With more than a decade of experience in real estate and public-private partnerships, she is committed to ensuring that revitalization happens with, not at the expense of, longtime residents.