Today, the first day of winter, is recognized annually as National Homeless Persons Remembrance Day. Sponsored since 1990 by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, this day of recognition is intended to bring attention to the nation's homeless population and to encourage action for their [...]
The Opportunity Zones Program, enacted in 2017 as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, is designed to encourage long-term investment in economically distressed rural and urban neighborhoods across the country. Opportunity Zones are census tracts that have been nominated by governors and certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to receive [...]
How do local governments decide where to invest public funds? Better yet, how can local governments help ensure that these investments are distributed to projects in an equitable manner? Unfortunately, there is no single, easy answer. However, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has created an interactive equity analysis tool to help address these questions. [...]
Have you wondered how concentrated employment in a particular occupation is in the metro region? If so, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)'s Occupational Employment Survey (OES) data is a good source for this information. The most recent release is for 2017 (the data for 2018 will be released in March or April of [...]
It's Cyber Monday and consumers are finding deals on goods and services purchased online. Internet access, for many, has become a basic utility like electricity, phone, and water without which a household might find it difficult to fully operate within our increasingly connected and connection-dependent world. Nonetheless according to a recent Pew Research Report, [...]
The Atlanta Regional Commission's Metro Atlanta Speaks (MAS) public opinion survey is in its sixth year. The first MAS survey—done in 2013 , asked 21 questions of 2,100 residents—and was statistically significant only at the 10-county region level. By 2018, the survey has grown to the largest of its type in the region, with [...]
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has a podcast. The podcast is called What’s Next ATL, like the recently launched website of the same name. What’s Next ATL is hosted and produced by Kate Sweeney, formerly an NPR reporter for 90.1 WABE. Each episode focuses on one crucial issue facing our region, and a person, [...]
Now in its sixth year, the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Metro Atlanta Speaks survey offers a snapshot of residents’ viewpoints on the area’s top challenges, local assets and what matters most to them. The survey polls residents from 13 metro counties on questions about transportation, the economy, amenities and quality of life, civic engagement and [...]
With daylight savings time over, temperatures dropping, and a certain crispness in the once muggy air, there’s no time like now to go outside and enjoy all that fall has to offer. But that begs the question: When will autumn leaves be most colorful in the Atlanta region this year? According to the 2018 Fall [...]
Opportunity varies widely across our country. Where one grows up, the income of their parents, their race and ethnicity -- all of these factors can contribute to a person's economic prospects and potential social mobility as an adult. Researchers from Harvard, Brown, and the U.S. Census Bureau have attempted to measure the extent to which [...]
