Suburban Poverty Rising in Atlanta

The nationwide resurgence of city centers may be paving the way for a relocation of urban poverty to the suburbs. Kate Sweeney reports on the situation in Atlanta. "Kim Anderson, CEO of Families First, a nonprofit that serves low-income Atlantans, says the issue is complicated, but that today, poverty has hit Atlanta's suburbs 'primarily because that's where affordable housing is.'"

As the connotations of "inner city" shift, low-income residents like Carole Williams live on cul-de-sacs instead of in public housing. "Since the late 1990s, Atlanta has demolished many of its public housing projects, scattering its former residents. These days, most apartments built in-town are high-rent luxury units, tough for middle or low-income people to afford."

If this trend holds, low-income people may bear the brunt of sprawl that the middle and upper classes created. "Fortunately, Carole Williams has a vehicle, but it's one she shares with her niece, who has a job and two kids. Planning her days was a lot easier back in New York, where she would just walk or hop a train."