How the score works
Who is scored. Residential parcels with at most one living unit, at least 1,500 sf of lot, and not tax-exempt. Everything else is drawn faint.
Score. Nine criteria, each scaled 0 to 1, combined with the weights below (published mode; least-change weights in the last column where they differ). The sliders in the panel re-score live. Score = 100 × weighted sum of the weights, normalized.
| Criterion | What counts as 1.0 | Wt |
|---|---|---|
| Lot area | 5,000 sf or more (the N3 duplex lot); smaller lots scale down | 20 |
| MARTA rail | within ½ mi of a station; 0 at 1 mi | 15 |
| Frequent bus | within ¼ mi of a frequent stop; 0 at ½ mi | 10 |
| Zoning today | district allows 2+ units (0.5 if only an ADU) | 15 |
| Draft V2 zoning | Form district allows 2+ units per lot (0.5 if only ADUs) | 15 |
| Underused lot | building value is small relative to land value (0 when improvements are 2× land) | 15 |
| Flood zone | lot is outside the FEMA special flood hazard area | 5 |
| Historic district | not in a historic district (0.5 if it is) | 5 |
| Policy gap | Draft V2 allows 2+ units, current code allows one | 0 / 30 |
Two modes. Published ranks lots by fit today (policy gap weight 0). Least change gives the policy-gap flag 30 percent of the weight and drops "zoning today", so it surfaces lots whose extra units depend on Zoning 2.0 passing (mostly R-4B lots mapped to N5B). Both use the same tier cutoffs.
Transit dominance. Rail and frequent bus together carry 25 percent of the published weight but explain most of Tier A: with transit weights set to zero, only about a fifth of Tier A stays (Jaccard 0.20 in docs/sensitivity.md). Equal weights keep about two thirds.
Policy gap (● in the list) marks lots where Draft V2 allows 2+ units but the current code allows one. Under Draft V2 the unit cap comes from the Form district (Ch. 2); the Use district (Ch. 4) sets household living and ADU permissions.
Caveats. Weights are judgment calls; dropping transit reshuffles Tier A almost entirely (see docs/sensitivity.md). Current-code rules, including SPI subarea use tables, were verified against the Aug 25, 2026 Code of Ordinances; frontage is measured along the street edge where a centerline is within 45 ft, otherwise estimated. Conditional zoning, overlays, PD and HC subareas are not evaluated. Sewer capacity is not included because no public dataset exists. Draft V2 (Dec 19, 2025) is a proposal, not adopted code.
Sources: City of Atlanta DCP GIS parcels and zoning, ATL Zoning 2.0 Draft V2 map and text, Fulton assessor, MARTA GTFS, FEMA NFHL.