About This Project
What is the Cost of Living Project?
This is an innovative look at the price we pay to live in metro Atlanta. This conversation is about more than escalating home and rental costs; over the course of this project, we’ll explore the cost of living through food, wages, transportation, childcare, education, and healthcare—in addition to housing.
Why?
We want to help change the conversation around affordability by centering your voice and experience. Our goal is equitable development, greater diversity, and inclusive and accessible communities.
Where are you focusing your reporting?
We are currently spending time on Buford Highway, Campbellton Road, Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, and Memorial Drive. Choosing specific corridors as jumping-off points for reporting allows us to engage with residents one-on-one in in-person listening sessions. Our hope is that by taking direction from these communities, we’ll be able to paint a more holistic picture of the Cost of Living in Atlanta.
What about Atlantans who don't live or work on those corridors?
We understand this is an issue that stretches beyond any particular neighborhood and beyond I-285. We also have a call-in line and a survey to help us gather experiences from across the metro.
How can I get involved?
We’re looking for diverse voices, subjects, and storytelling styles—from longform features and photo essays to poetry and performance art—which means there is room for everyone in this project. If you have an idea about how to look at the cost of living in a new and interesting way, or if you want to share your personal experience with a local journalist, we hope to hear from you.
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The easiest way to share your input right now is to take this survey.
Who’s behind the Cost of Living Project?
This is a partnership between Canopy Atlanta and Atlanta Civic Circle, with support from the Partnership for Southern Equity. More on everyone below.
Meet Our Team
Canopy Atlanta is a nonprofit newsroom creating collaborative and participatory community journalism. CA equips metro Atlanta residents with access to information about their communities, and to tell impactful stories that are responsive to community desires. That means every story CA publishes is sourced directly from community members—and they are often the ones reporting those stories.
Partnership for Southern Equity is an Atlanta-based nonprofit that advances policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South. Through forums, research, and organizing efforts, PSE brings together the regional community to lift up and encourage just and sustainable civic practices for balanced growth and opportunity.
Atlanta Civic Circle is a nonprofit newsroom that uncovers stories, provides context, and deepens the public’s understanding of the complex issues facing the metro region. Through a solutions-oriented approach to reporting and convening, ACC equips the public with the information they need to hold elected officials and stakeholders accountable.