UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON D.C. 20549

                                    Form 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

                                 September 10, 2002
                Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)

                    MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC.
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

        TENNESSEE                     1-12762                   62-1543819
(State of Incorporation)      (Commission File Number)       (I.R.S. Employer
                                                          Identification Number)

                         6584 POPLAR AVENUE, SUITE 300
                           MEMPHIS, TENNEESSEE 38138
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                 (901) 682-6600
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

             (Former name or address, if changed since last report)

ITEM 9.  Regulation FD

Mid America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA)
H. Eric Bolton, Jr. Elected Chairman

Memphis, TN September 10, 2002. Mid-America Apartment  Communities,  Inc. (NYSE:
MAA) announced that at its regularly  scheduled meeting,  the Board of Directors
elected  its CEO,  H. Eric  Bolton,  Jr.,  as  Chairman  of the Board  effective
September 9, 2002,  succeeding  George E. Cates,  who is retiring as Chairman of
the Board and will remain a director.  This  unanimous  election  culminated the
formal  succession  plan  first  endorsed  by the  Board in  1997,  which is now
implemented fully.

During Cates' term as Chairman, since MAA's initial public offering in 1994, the
compounded annual overall market return to shareholders has been 12.6% annually.
The company's  portfolio of 33,923 apartment units has earned more  independent,
third party  recognition  for excellence  than that of any other apartment REIT.
Open Arms,  providing fine apartment homes for families in medical  crisis,  was
recognized  as the real estate  industry's  best  corporate  charity  during his
tenure as Chairman.

For further  details,  please  refer to our website at  www.maac.net  or contact
Simon R. C. Wadsworth at (901) 682-6668,  ext. 105. 6584 Poplar Ave., suite 300,
Memphis, TN 38138.


                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchnage  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                    MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC.

Date:  September 10, 2002            /s/Simon R.C. Wadsworth
                                    Simon R.C. Wadsworth
                                    Executive Vice President
                                    (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)