Between the 1980s and the early 2000s, as part of continued execution of the FAA noise abatement program, the City of Atlanta and the FAA purchased roughly 320 acres of property (containing residential structures, churches, and some small commercial buildings) immediately adjacent to the west side of downtown College Park, resulting in a multitude of properties sitting abandoned for decades. The totality of these eventually abandoned properties purchased between the 1970s and the 2000s have been described as a major player in shaping a negative public image of the city, second only to the perception of crime in the area.