An estimated 500,000 residents of the Atlanta area live without access to grocery stores. A recent article asks the obvious question: “Why can we build multimillion-dollar highway systems and multibillion-dollar stadiums but not more grocery stores?"
“Indeed, more than half a million people in the city of Atlanta and the ten counties that surround it live in neighborhoods the U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies as food deserts,” writes Rebecca Burns in a thoughtful and broad examination of the food desert problem in Atlanta and its surrounding suburbs.
Perhaps surprisingly, food deserts expand well into the suburban surroundings of Atlanta: “You don’t find these nutritional wastelands only in places like Bankhead; it’s even harder to get fresh, healthy food in the suburbs. In Cobb County, 75,000 people are food desert residents, as are 124,000 in Clayton.”
Moreover, “Getting fresh food isn’t only a problem for the poorest Atlantans. Areas most of us would hardly consider underprivileged—the middle-class suburbs of DeKalb County or the gentrified enclaves around Grant Park, for instance—are labeled 'low access' by the USDA, meaning at least a third of the people who live there have to travel a mile or more to get to a grocery store.”
FULL STORY: Stranded in Atlanta's Food Deserts

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

Washington State’s Parking Reform Law Could Unlock ‘Countless’ Acres for New Housing
A law that limits how much parking cities can require for residential amd commercial developments could lead to a construction boom.

Wildlife Rebounds After the Eaton Fire
Following the devastation of the Eaton Fire, the return of wildlife and the regrowth of native plants are offering powerful signs of resilience and renewal.

LA to Replace Inglewood Light Rail Project With Bus Shuttles
LA Metro says the change is in response to community engagement and that the new design will be ready before the 2028 Olympic Games.
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