Ari Meier's Blog, page 2

Replacing South DeKalb Mall With New Mixed-Use Development

Photo credit: La Citta Vita



















Bringing Atlantic Station to the eastside
New York City-based Thor Equities is an international real estate development and investment company that owns the 800,000 square foot The Gallery at South DeKalb. 
From Thor Equities' page describing The Gallery at South DeKalb: 
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONThe Gallery at South DeKalb is located in the southeastern section of Atlanta, known as Decatur, Georgia. Situated minutes away from I-285, and directly off I-20 on Candler Road, the Gallery has tremendous exposure and visibility from the street. The daily traffic count of cars passing the Property is estimated to be about 136,000.
EXCEPTIONAL TRADE AREAThe Gallery at South DeKalb tailors itself to a close-knit community of African-American consumers with more than 600,000 potential customers in the primary and secondary market area. This trade area has the nation’s second-most affluent African-American base with an average household income at more than $60,000 for more than 257,000 people within a five-mile radius. There is also a deep relationship between the Gallery and their local religious partners. In their trade area, the 10 largest churches have more than 125,000 members, which support the Gallery at South DeKalb in many ways.
Just imagine for a moment that The Gallery at South Dekalb disappeared. When you drive up Candler Road, you don't see the 46 year-old mall, but you see something different. You see shops lining the street level at Candler Road, where you were able to look down into the valley that once held The Gallery at South DeKalb. When driving down into the valley, you see what looks like a small city center. You find buildings of differing heights and designs with retail names that are not within 20 miles of this location, but names that residents in the area seek out, drive to and shop at...20 plus miles away.
In your mind, you've seen this type of development, with names such as Atlantic Station, Glenwood Park, and Avalon. Residents of the actual city of Decatur and Atlanta come out to this location, to shop at stores that they used to have to travel much further to shop at. 
This is something that could happen. With I-20 being one of the busiest freeways in the south, south DeKalb residents shouldn't sleep on The Gallery at South DeKalb, or should I say, the potential of The Gallery at South DeKalb. There will be the usual, "this won't fly in south DeKalb, because of the income issues" crowd. It's all about providing a desirable destination. There's a solid middle class in the south DeKalb market area. 


Photo credit: Brett VAThe issue is not that most residents don't want to or can't support the retail, they like most consumers want the whole shopping experience to be something that they feel great about shopping at. Atlantic Station does a great job in this area. It's offerings are nothing out of the ordinary, it has a Publix, movie theater, mall-type retail, a huge confusing parking garage and enough events happening year-round. Atlantic Station is basic mall-type stores in a nice wrapping. They've also upgraded Atlantic Station once in the past nine years since it's opening. Retail center upgrades are important.  This is why in other parts of the metro with similar economic demographics, retail centers and stores are upgraded, renovated and refashioned often. The retail stores and shopping center owners know that doing a upgrade every 20 years won't fly with the consumers in those areas. Why should it fly in south DeKalb? 
Imagine having a Christmas tree lighting at the new South DeKalb. Imagine a weekend flea market. Imagine an amphitheater with events almost year-round. This is doable and we should explore this further. We should ask Thor Equities, "what are your plans for this property?" A repurposing of The Gallery of South Dekalb would be an amazing asset. 
If you're into planning and development, I came across a Livable Centers Initiative study commissioned by Dekalb County for the Panthersville/ Flat Shoals Parkway/ Candler Road area back in 2007. This is a great start, but the conversation needs to keep going. 

Photos are only depictions of ideas and do not represent actual future developments.

Replace South DeKalb Mall With New Mixed-Use Development

Photo credit: La Citta Vita



















Bringing Atlantic Station to the eastside
New York City-based Thor Equities is an international real estate development and investment company that owns the 800,000 square foot The Gallery at South DeKalb. 
From Thor Equities' page describing The Gallery at South DeKalb: 
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONThe Gallery at South DeKalb is located in the southeastern section of Atlanta, known as Decatur, Georgia. Situated minutes away from I-285, and directly off I-20 on Candler Road, the Gallery has tremendous exposure and visibility from the street. The daily traffic count of cars passing the Property is estimated to be about 136,000.
EXCEPTIONAL TRADE AREAThe Gallery at South DeKalb tailors itself to a close-knit community of African-American consumers with more than 600,000 potential customers in the primary and secondary market area. This trade area has the nation’s second-most affluent African-American base with an average household income at more than $60,000 for more than 257,000 people within a five-mile radius. There is also a deep relationship between the Gallery and their local religious partners. In their trade area, the 10 largest churches have more than 125,000 members, which support the Gallery at South DeKalb in many ways.
Just imagine for a moment that The Gallery at South Dekalb disappeared. When you drive up Candler Road, you don't see the 46 year-old mall, but you see something different. You see shops lining the street level at Candler Road, where you were able to look down into the valley that once held The Gallery at South DeKalb. When driving down into the valley, you see what looks like a small city center. You find buildings of differing heights and designs with retail names that are not within 20 miles of this location, but names that residents in the area seek out, drive to and shop at...20 plus miles away.
In your mind, you've seen this type of development, with names such as Atlantic Station, Glenwood Park, and Avalon. Residents of the actual city of Decatur and Atlanta come out to this location, to shop at stores that they used to have to travel much further to shop at. 
This is something that could happen. With I-20 being one of the busiest freeways in the south, south DeKalb residents shouldn't sleep on The Gallery at South DeKalb, or should I say, the potential of The Gallery at South DeKalb. There will be the usual, "this won't fly in south DeKalb, because of the income issues" crowd. It's all about providing a desirable destination. There's a solid middle class in the south DeKalb market area. 


Photo credit: Brett VAThe issue is not that most residents don't want to or can't support the retail, they like most consumers want the whole shopping experience to be something that they feel great about shopping at. Atlantic Station does a great job in this area. It's offerings are nothing out of the ordinary, it has a Publix, movie theater, mall-type retail, a huge confusing parking garage and enough events happening year-round. Atlantic Station is basic mall-type stores in a nice wrapping. They've also upgraded Atlantic Station once in the past nine years since it's opening. Retail center upgrades are important.  This is why in other parts of the metro with similar economic demographics, retail centers and stores are upgraded, renovated and refashioned often. The retail stores and shopping center owners know that doing a upgrade every 20 years won't fly with the consumers in those areas. Why should it fly in south DeKalb? 
Imagine having a Christmas tree lighting at the new South DeKalb. Imagine a weekend flea market. Imagine an amphitheater with events almost year-round. This is doable and we should explore this further. We should ask Thor Equities, "what are your plans for this property?" A repurposing of The Gallery of South Dekalb would be an amazing asset. 
If you're into planning and development, I came across a Livable Centers Initiative study commissioned by Dekalb County for the Panthersville/ Flat Shoals Parkway/ Candler Road area back in 2007. This is a great start, but the conversation needs to keep going. 

Photos are only depictions of ideas and do not represent actual future developments.

Atlantic Station-Style Development Could Work in South DeKalb

Photo credit: La Citta Vita



















Could we tear down the mall and start over with a live/ work play center?
New York City-based Thor Equities is an international real estate development and investment company that owns the 800,000 square foot The Gallery at South DeKalb. 
From Thor Equities' page describing The Gallery at South DeKalb: 
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONThe Gallery at South DeKalb is located in the southeastern section of Atlanta, known as Decatur, Georgia. Situated minutes away from I-285, and directly off I-20 on Candler Road, the Gallery has tremendous exposure and visibility from the street. The daily traffic count of cars passing the Property is estimated to be about 136,000.
EXCEPTIONAL TRADE AREAThe Gallery at South DeKalb tailors itself to a close-knit community of African-American consumers with more than 600,000 potential customers in the primary and secondary market area. This trade area has the nation’s second-most affluent African-American base with an average household income at more than $60,000 for more than 257,000 people within a five-mile radius. There is also a deep relationship between the Gallery and their local religious partners. In their trade area, the 10 largest churches have more than 125,000 members, which support the Gallery at South DeKalb in many ways.
Just imagine for a moment that The Gallery at South Dekalb disappeared. When you drive up Candler Road, you don't see the 46 year-old mall, but you see something different. You see shops lining the street level at Candler Road, where you were able to look down into the valley that once held The Gallery at South DeKalb. When driving down into the valley, you see what looks like a small city center. You find buildings of differing heights and designs with retail names that are not within 20 miles of this location, but names that residents in the area seek out, drive to and shop at...20 plus miles away.
In your mind, you've seen this type of development, with names such as Atlantic Station, Glenwood Park, and Avalon. Residents of the actual city of Decatur and Atlanta come out to this location, to shop at stores that they used to have to travel much further to shop at. Traffic has gotten so much worse that the Georgia DOT is going to construct a Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) at the Candler Road- Interstate 20 interchange. 
This is something that could happen. With I-20 being one of the busiest freeways in the south, south DeKalb residents shouldn't sleep on The Gallery at South DeKalb, or should I say, the potential of The Gallery at South DeKalb. There will be the usual, "this won't fly in south DeKalb, because of the income issues" crowd. It's all about providing a desirable destination. There's a solid middle class in the south DeKalb market area. 


Photo credit: Brett VAThe issue is not that most residents don't want to or can't support the retail, they like most consumers want the whole shopping experience to be something that they feel great about shopping at. Atlantic Station does a great job in this area. It's offerings are nothing out of the ordinary, it has a Publix, movie theater, mall-type retail, a huge confusing parking garage and enough events happening year-round. Atlantic Station is basic mall-type stores in a nice wrapping. They've also upgraded Atlantic Station once in the past nine years since it's opening. Retail center upgrades are important.  This is why in other parts of the metro with similar economic demographics, retail centers and stores are upgraded, renovated and refashioned often. The retail stores and shopping center owners know that doing a upgrade every 20 years won't fly with the consumers in those areas. Why should it fly in south DeKalb? 
Imagine having a Christmas tree lighting at the new South DeKalb. Imagine a weekend flea market. Imagine an amphitheater with events almost year-round. This is doable and we should explore this further. We should ask Thor Equities, "what are your plans for this property?" A repurposing of The Gallery of South Dekalb would be an amazing asset. 
If you're into planning and development, I came across a Livable Centers Initiative study commissioned by Dekalb County for the Panthersville/ Flat Shoals Parkway/ Candler Road area back in 2007. This is a great start, but the conversation needs to keep going. 

Photos are only depictions of ideas and do not represent actual future developments.

What Really Defines School Quality?

Photo credit: Justine Warrington



And it's not about the percentage of kids on free or reduced lunch.

School quality has been a big topic for decades and there seems to be no quick and easy answers. We all usually agree that school quality metrics involve test scores, graduation rates and parental involvement. School districts could be affected negatively by non-educationally related issues such as school board in-fighting and administrative and organizational negligence. This could threaten the school district's accreditation, which can cause potential residents of an area to not consider the area. DeKalb County School District nearly lost its accreditation because of something not related to its quality of education. This is an example of adults not putting the children and what they are tasked with first. 
Both of my parents were educators (teachers and counselors) and dinner time was often peppered with talk about the board this, mr. so and so this. I enjoyed listening to this "teacher gossip" especially when it would touch on principals and teachers I knew. When faced with going to high school, I thought  I would attend the high school that the majority of my middle school friends were attending. My mom wasn't going for that, so I found all kinds of reasons why I didn't want to go to the school I was zoned to attend. Finally I pulled the bad school card. I would never forget what my mom said in response to this. 
"There's nothing wrong with that school, they have a lot of good teachers and low test scores don't mean that the kids don't know anything." Years later, when I had children of my own, I remembered my mom's declaration when fussing and haggling over where to move. My older kids attended private school until they were at the middle school age and eventually both graduated from Stephenson High. I have a daughter currently at Towers, who attended Bethune before that, she's maintained great grades at both schools.
I used GreatSchools.org before moving a couple of years ago. I found its user interface simple, but looking deeper into the metrics going into the 1-10 rating system, I found the percentage of free or reduced lunches, racial composition and standardized test scores were parameters used in the ratings. I'm not sure if whether a child getting free or reduced lunch has any bearing on the quality of the school in educating said child.
When doing research on the accuracy of GreatSchools.org, I found comments from parents around the country coming to the conclusion that GreatSchools.org ratings may not accuratley reflect the actual quality of the school. Several years ago on a popular real estate site, a parent detailed his search for a good public school and was dismayed after seeing the chosen school rated as a 3. He visited the school and was impressed enough to enroll his kids anyway and both he and the kids absolutely love the school.
What makes a good school is parents making the schools accountable and schools making the parents accountable for the child getting the most out of their learning experience. Of course, the child must be accountable by listening and doing all of their necessary tests and school work. In the better performing schools, principals, teachers and parents maintain constant communication with each other when there are negative changes in the student's grades. 
I've never been an educator but I know it's not an easy occupation, but If you are an educator that is not emotionally vested with teaching, get into another line of work. Students need their teacher, principal and all support educational staff to be at 100 percent. I've heard a teacher mumble under her breath about not liking working in this county. My mom  used to say that there were many dedicated teachers and then there were the ones who liked the idea of not working during the summer months and getting paid more than actually teaching.
If you are a parent who is not involved at all in your child's education beyond getting him or her ready for school or dropping them off at the bus stop, please understand that you may be setting your child up for possible failure. Sure there are many children that are doing great in school in the absence of much parental involvement, but if your child is not doing good in school and if you're not as involved, understand that it's not all of the school's fault.

Why Some Restaurants and Retailers Avoid South DeKalb County

Photo credit: Le Petit Marche

Despite higher median income and traffic counts than other Atlanta suburban areas, trendy fast casual restaurants shun south DeKalb
On a recent evening, my wife and I contemplated on what we were having for dinner. Anything was okay if it didn’t involve firing up the stove, so we settled on Willy’s Mexicana Grill. My thoughts on biting into a tasty veggie quesadilla went from happy to stressful in a half of a second: it was 9:40 pm, and I knew that Willy’s would close in 20 minutes!
Thoughts of “can I make it in time” ran through my head. If we were living in Midtown, Buckhead, or near Emory, I wouldn’t be stressed about time, but we live off of Wesley Chapel Road in south DeKalb and the closest Willy’s is about 20 minutes away near Little Five Points.  While I won’t say how fast I drove in order to make it to Willy’s before closing time, I made it. It was a reminder that the area I chose to live in, doesn’t have much of a choice in restaurants beyond fast food outlets.
Some will say, “what about the Stonecrest Mall area? There are several fast casual and good sit-down restaurants in that area”. Although Stonecrest is not far, it’s also not close enough to make a 5 or 6-minute trip to get food. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Starbucks, Chipotle, Taco Mac, Zoe's Kitchen, are a few of the national retailers found in other parts of metro Atlanta-sometimes with several outlets in close proximity. But they are nowhere to be seen in south DeKalb.
If you were to ask the restaurant company business or franchise development departments about the chances of locating an outlet in south DeKalb, they may say that the demographics in much of south DeKalb doesn’t ‘fit their business model'. According to Entrepreneur article, “How to Find the Best Location”, determining where to locate a restaurant can be as simple or complex. “There are, for instance, sophisticated location analysis tools available that include traffic pattern information, demographic and lifestyle data, and competitive analyses.”
Within demographic data is median income. Comparing population and median household income data between 5 south DeKalb ZIP codes and selected metro Atlanta suburbs, you'll find a few interesting things. Hiram, population 3,705, has a Starbucks, Japanese restaurant, Moe's Southwest Grill and a Cold Stone Creamery, all in an area with median household income of $46,793. In addition to Hiram, the cities listed below, have a plethora of fast casual, Japanese/ sushi restaurants.
Their populations are all less than the population of the south DeKalb ZIP codes and all of their median household incomes, except Roswell and Sandy Springs, are LESS than the median household incomes in south DeKalb. I chose Roswell and Sandy Springs for a reason. They are considered relatively wealthy, have high quality of life metrics and overall are highly desirable places to live.
The median household income in Sandy Springs was a little more, about $5.32 an hour more than the median household income in south DeKalb. 
South DeKalb (Zip codes 30034, 30035, 30088, 30058, 30038) Marietta Pop. 173,484 Pop. 60,014 Median household income(MHI): $48,203 MHI: $41,693 Roswell Sandy Springs Pop. 94,089 Pop. 101,908 MHI: $72,317 MHI: $59,196 McDonough Lawrenceville Pop. 23,004 Pop. 30,212 MHI: $45,077 MHI: $42,395 Hiram
Pop. 3,705
MHI: $46,793

South DeKalb compares favorably on median household income with the others. So it must be another metric that these desirable restaurants are using to determine where they'll open up. Traffic counts!
Traffic counts are conducted by the state of Georgia for traffic signal, intersection improvements and other updates to help with improving traffic flow. South DeKalb must be facing a dearth of more restaurant diversity because out traffic counts don’t warrant opening up right? Wrong!
Wesley Chapel's traffic count is 51,900 (the count was taken in front of JJ's Fish and Chicken and probably 48,000 of them are in JJ's drive thru!). Anyone who drives on Wesley Chapel is hardly surprised by this number, but to put it in proper perspective, let's look around the metro area and see how busy the other roads are. The number listed next to the roadway name is the largest traffic count anywhere on that road.
Ashford-Dunwoody Rd 49,400 Roswell Rd 40,100 Peachtree St/Rd 46,000 Cobb Pkwy 44,000 Highway 138 (Stockbridge) 35,200 Camp Creek Pkwy 50,100 Thornton Rd (Douglasville) 45,900 Pleasant Hill Rd (Duluth) 56,300 Jimmy Carter 69,600 Holcomb Bridge Rd 68,800 Buford Dr (near the Mall of Ga) 84,500
Driving on Ashford-Dunwoody Road is frustrating, the traffic is a little less than that of Wesley Chapel Road, but there are high-rise office buildings, hotels, tons of restaurants and a big mall in that area. Driving on Wesley Chapel, you'll pass a McDonalds, a Waffle House, KFC, Captain D’s, another McDonalds. No big malls, no restaurant variety, no high-rise office buildings and hotels.
Looking at populations, median household incomes and traffic counts around metro Atlanta, we see that south DeKalb compares quite favorably with the other areas, but we don't have what the other areas have. 
There is no reason why the households in this area makes more than Marietta, Lawrenceville, Hiram and McDonough, but doesn't have the restaurant choices those areas have. There are no clear reasons why I should have to drive to Little Five Points to get a Willy's quesadilla when the median income, population and traffic counts show that south DeKalb could support this and other similar restaurants and stores.

Sources:City-DataMoving.com Georgia DOT Traffic Counts
Written by Ari Meier
Copyright 2016 © Ari Meier

South DeKalb County is Ripe for Diverse Shopping Options

Photo credit: Le Petit Marche

Wesley Chapel Road traffic counts among highest in metro Atlanta
On a recent evening, my wife and I contemplated on what we were having for dinner. Anything was okay if it didn’t involve firing up the stove, so we settled on Willy’s Mexicana Grill. My thoughts on biting into a tasty veggie quesadilla went from happy to stressful in a half of a second: it was 9:40 pm, and I knew that Willy’s would close in 20 minutes!
Thoughts of “can I make it in time” ran through my head. If we were living in Midtown, Buckhead, or near Emory, I wouldn’t be stressed about time, but we live off of Wesley Chapel Road in south DeKalb and the closest Willy’s is about 20 minutes away near Little Five Points.  While I won’t say how fast I drove in order to make it to Willy’s before closing time, I made it. It was a reminder that the area I chose to live in, doesn’t have much of a choice in restaurants beyond fast food outlets.
Some will say, “what about the Stonecrest Mall area? There are several fast casual and good sit-down restaurants in that area”. Although Stonecrest is not far, it’s also not close enough to make a 5 or 6-minute trip to get food. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Starbucks, Chipotle, Taco Mac, Zoe's Kitchen, are a few of the national retailers found in other parts of metro Atlanta-sometimes with several outlets in close proximity. But they are nowhere to be seen in south DeKalb.
If you were to ask the restaurant company business or franchise development departments about the chances of locating an outlet in south DeKalb, they may say that the demographics in much of south DeKalb doesn’t ‘fit their business model'. According to Entrepreneur article, “How to Find the Best Location”, determining where to locate a restaurant can be as simple or complex. “There are, for instance, sophisticated location analysis tools available that include traffic pattern information, demographic and lifestyle data, and competitive analyses.”
Within demographic data is median income. Comparing population and median household income data between 5 south DeKalb ZIP codes and selected metro Atlanta suburbs, you'll find a few interesting things. Hiram, population 3,705, has a Starbucks, Japanese restaurant, Moe's Southwest Grill and a Cold Stone Creamery, all in an area with median household income of $46,793. In addition to Hiram, the cities listed below, have a plethora of fast casual, Japanese/ sushi restaurants.
Their populations are all less than the population of the south DeKalb ZIP codes and all of their median household incomes, except Roswell and Sandy Springs, are LESS than the median household incomes in south DeKalb. I chose Roswell and Sandy Springs for a reason. They are considered relatively wealthy, have high quality of life metrics and overall are highly desirable places to live.
The median household income in Sandy Springs was a little more, about $5.32 an hour more than the median household income in south DeKalb. 
South DeKalb (Zip codes 30034, 30035, 30088, 30058, 30038) Marietta Pop. 173,484 Pop. 60,014 Median household income(MHI): $48,203 MHI: $41,693 Roswell Sandy Springs Pop. 94,089 Pop. 101,908 MHI: $72,317 MHI: $59,196 McDonough Lawrenceville Pop. 23,004 Pop. 30,212 MHI: $45,077 MHI: $42,395 Hiram
Pop. 3,705
MHI: $46,793

South DeKalb compares favorably on median household income with the others. So it must be another metric that these desirable restaurants are using to determine where they'll open up. Traffic counts!
Traffic counts are conducted by the state of Georgia for traffic signal, intersection improvements and other updates to help with improving traffic flow. South DeKalb must be facing a dearth of more restaurant diversity because out traffic counts don’t warrant opening up right? Wrong!
Wesley Chapel's traffic count is 51,900 (the count was taken in front of JJ's Fish and Chicken and probably 48,000 of them are in JJ's drive thru!). Anyone who drives on Wesley Chapel is hardly surprised by this number, but to put it in proper perspective, let's look around the metro area and see how busy the other roads are. The number listed next to the roadway name is the largest traffic count anywhere on that road.
Ashford-Dunwoody Rd 49,400 Roswell Rd 40,100 Peachtree St/Rd 46,000 Cobb Pkwy 44,000 Highway 138 (Stockbridge) 35,200 Camp Creek Pkwy 50,100 Thornton Rd (Douglasville) 45,900 Pleasant Hill Rd (Duluth) 56,300 Jimmy Carter 69,600 Holcomb Bridge Rd 68,800 Buford Dr (near the Mall of Ga) 84,500
Driving on Ashford-Dunwoody Road is frustrating, the traffic is a little less than that of Wesley Chapel Road, but there are high-rise office buildings, hotels, tons of restaurants and a big mall in that area. Driving on Wesley Chapel, you'll pass a McDonalds, a Waffle House, KFC, Captain D’s, another McDonalds. No big malls, no restaurant variety, no high-rise office buildings and hotels.
Looking at populations, median household incomes and traffic counts around metro Atlanta, we see that south DeKalb compares quite favorably with the other areas, but we don't have what the other areas have. 
There is no reason why the households in this area makes more than Marietta, Lawrenceville, Hiram and McDonough, but doesn't have the restaurant choices those areas have. There are no clear reasons why I should have to drive to Little Five Points to get a Willy's quesadilla when the median income, population and traffic counts show that south DeKalb could support this and other similar restaurants and stores.

Sources:City-DataMoving.com Georgia DOT Traffic Counts
Written by Ari Meier
Copyright 2016 © Ari Meier

South DeKalb Can Support More Restaurant and Retail Diversity

Wesley Chapel Road traffic counts among highest in metro Atlanta
On a recent evening, my wife and I contemplated on what we were having for dinner. Anything was okay if it didn’t involve firing up the stove, so we settled on Willy’s Mexicana Grill. My thoughts on biting into a tasty veggie quesadilla went from happy to stressful in a half of a second: it was 9:40 pm, and I knew that Willy’s would close in 20 minutes!
Thoughts of “can I make it in time” ran through my head. If we were living in Midtown, Buckhead, or near Emory, I wouldn’t be stressed about time, but we live off of Wesley Chapel Road in south DeKalb and the closest Willy’s is about 20 minutes away near Little Five Points.  While I won’t say how fast I drove in order to make it to Willy’s before closing time, I made it. It was a reminder that the area I chose to live in, doesn’t have much of a choice in restaurants beyond fast food outlets.
Some will say, “what about the Stonecrest Mall area? There are several fast casual and good sit-down restaurants in that area”. Although Stonecrest is not far, it’s also not close enough to make a 5 or 6-minute trip to get food. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Starbucks, Chipotle, Taco Mac, Zoe's Kitchen, are a few of the national retailers found in other parts of metro Atlanta-sometimes with several outlets in close proximity. But they are nowhere to be seen in south DeKalb.
If you were to ask the restaurant company business or franchise development departments about the chances of locating an outlet in south DeKalb, they may say that the demographics in much of south DeKalb doesn’t ‘fit their business model'. According to Entrepreneur article, “How to Find the Best Location”, determining where to locate a restaurant can be as simple or complex. “There are, for instance, sophisticated location analysis tools available that include traffic pattern information, demographic and lifestyle data, and competitive analyses.”
Within demographic data is median income. Comparing population and median household income data between 5 south DeKalb ZIP codes and selected metro Atlanta suburbs, you'll find a few interesting things. Hiram, population 3,705, has a Starbucks, Japanese restaurant, Moe's Southwest Grill and a Cold Stone Creamery, all in an area with median household income of $46,793. In addition to Hiram, the cities listed below, have a plethora of fast casual, Japanese/ sushi restaurants.
Their populations are all less than the population of the south DeKalb ZIP codes and all of their median household incomes, except Roswell, Johns Creek and Sandy Springs, are LESS than the median household incomes in south DeKalb. I chose Roswell, Sandy Springs and Johns Creek for a reason. They are considered relatively wealthy, have high quality of life metrics and overall are highly desirable places to live.
Wealthy Johns Creek beat out south DeKalb's median household income by a 'huge' difference of $7,711 a year. That means the median household income in Johns Creek was about $643 more a month or $3.74 more an hour than what the median household income is in the 5 south DeKalb ZIP codes! The median household income in Sandy Springs was a little more, about $5.32 an hour more than the median household income in south DeKalb. 
South DeKalb (Zip codes 30034, 30035, 30088, 30058, 30038) Marietta Pop. 173,484 Pop. 60,014 Median household income(MHI): $48,203 MHI: $41,693 Roswell Sandy Springs Pop. 94,089 Pop. 101,908 MHI: $72,317 MHI: $59,196 McDonough Johns Creek Pop. 23,004 Pop. 83,102 MHI: $45,077 MHI: 55,914 Hiram Lawrenceville Pop. 3,705 Pop. 30,212 MHI: $46,793 MHI: $42,395
South DeKalb compares favorably on median household income with the others. So it must be another metric that these desirable restaurants are using to determine where they'll open up. Traffic counts!
Traffic counts are conducted by the state of Georgia for traffic signal, intersection improvements and other updates to help with improving traffic flow. South DeKalb must be facing a dearth of more restaurant diversity because out traffic counts don’t warrant opening up right? Wrong!
Wesley Chapel's traffic count is 51,900 (the count was taken in front of JJ's Fish and Chicken and probably 48,000 of them are in JJ's drive thru!). Anyone who drives on Wesley Chapel is hardly surprised by this number, but to put it in proper perspective, let's look around the metro area and see how busy the other roads are. The number listed next to the roadway name is the largest traffic count anywhere on that road.
Windward Parkway (Alpharetta/ Johns Creek) 45,200 Ashford-Dunwoody Rd 49,400 Roswell Rd 40,100 Peachtree St/Rd 46,000 Cobb Pkwy 44,000 Highway 138 (Stockbridge) 35,200 Camp Creek Pkwy 50,100 Thornton Rd (Douglasville) 45,900 Pleasant Hill Rd (Duluth) 56,300 Jimmy Carter 69,600 Holcomb Bridge Rd 68,800 Buford Dr (near the Mall of Ga) 84,500
Driving on Ashford-Dunwoody Road is frustrating, the traffic is a little less than that of Wesley Chapel Road, but there are high-rise office buildings, hotels, tons of restaurants and a big mall in that area. Driving on Wesley Chapel, you'll pass a McDonalds, a Waffle House, KFC, Captain D’s, another McDonalds. No big malls, no restaurant variety, no high-rise office buildings and hotels.
Looking at populations, median household incomes and traffic counts around metro Atlanta, we see that south DeKalb compares quite favorably with the other areas, but we don't have what the other areas have. Why? Maybe the restaurants are waiting on south DeKalb's median household incomes to rise higher than Johns Creek (after all, we're only about $640 a month behind). You think we'll be taken 'seriously' then?
This is what disinvestment looks like.
This is what economic 'malpractice' looks like.
There is no reason why the households in this area makes more than Marietta, Lawrenceville, Hiram and McDonough, but doesn't have the restaurant choices those areas have. There are no reasons why I should have to drive all the way to Little Five Points to get a Willy's quesadilla or Lavista Road to go to a Whole Foods when south DeKalb clearly would support most of these restaurants and stores, based on income, population and traffic counts.

Sources:City-DataMoving.com Georgia DOT Traffic Counts
Written by Ari Meier
Copyright 2016 © Ari Meier

When Upscale Neighborhood Crime Rates are Higher Than Least Desirable Neighborhoods

Midtown Atlanta's Piedmont Park


























In metro Atlanta, Georgia, something interesting is forming and taking shape. Coalescing in southern DeKalb County is a movement that is a) trying to form a city (Greenhaven) to help improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and b) bringing together critical-thinking community members to address the issues and debunk the myths that often gather around diverse areas – in this case the issue of safety.
Crime is a hot topic. With a multitude of publications ranking the ‘safest neighborhoods’, many understandably make it a priority to peruse these lists and guides with the hopes of not only avoiding a high crime area when researching an area before purchasing a home, but to insure that the chosen neighborhood has a low likelihood of changing. Looks can be deceiving.
The issue is that people rarely get hard data to support this assessment. These labels bring huge economic costs: disinvestment, high unemployment in the community, low economic development potential, and lower home appreciation rates. Some of these communities have median incomes that are similar or close to that of other communities, but the high crime label supersedes any positive information about the community. You can go to much of the U.S. and find this dynamic repeated. A part of metro Atlanta is presented as a case study on this phenomenon and hard data is used to prove that looks are deceiving.
Using DeKalb County Georgia, and in particular, a proposed section that the think tank team refers to as Greenhaven is a case study of perception vs. reality when it comes to crime. The author took zip codes within the proposed Greenhaven and compared them to contiguous and nearby areas that are considered affluent, desirable and high in property value. This comparison was about assessing whether the following quote from a recent article in the major newspaper was reflective of the area.
“In south DeKalb County, where the 20-year-old Campbell lived his entire life, violent deaths of young men are so common that a shorthand term has evolved for the nighttime vigil that follows so many shootings. It is, simply, a candlelight”, declared the recent AJC article, “Life, death and gangs in south DeKalb.”
I hope these young men rest in peace and that their families and other survivors find healing and peace.
The AJC story highlights several young men that were killed since this past summer, and includes a map of where the young men lived and died. One problem: although ‘south DeKalb’ is in the story’s title, based on the story’s map, most of the killings occurred outside of south DeKalb- far outside, as in the Tucker/ Smoke Rise area. Most will agree that a killing is never good no matter where it happens, but in this case, the title of the article doesn’t accurately portray where the majority of these killings occurred.
The news reporting status quo goes something like this: “There was a killing in DeKalb”, “A young woman was murdered in ___________”. You are free to insert “DeKalb”, “DeKalb County” or “south DeKalb” onto the blank line. The AJC article and local news stations make it seem as if DeKalb County, specifically south DeKalb, is rife with crime.
South DeKalb has its share of problems, with crime being one of them. The point of this is not to trivialize those who have experienced crime of any type in south DeKalb. This is about correcting when there are errors. According to recent data from Moving.com, a part of the Realtor.com network, the risk of being a crime victim is higher in parts of the Atlanta metro area that you would least expect. For instance, in many Buckhead and midtown zip codes, your chances of being a victim of a crime are much higher than in south DeKalb. What is crime risk and how is it measured?
From the Moving.com site:Total Crime Risk - A score that represents the combined risks of rape, murder, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny and vehicle theft compared to the national average of 100. A score of 200 indicates twice the national average total crime risk, while 50 indicates half the national risk. The different types of crime are given equal weight in this score, so murder, for example, does not count more than vehicle theft. Scores are based on demographic and geographic analyses of crime over seven years.
Personal Crime Risk - Index score (100=National Average) that represents the combined risks of rape, murder, assault and robbery.
Property Crime Risk - Index score (100=National Average) that represents the combined risks of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
I’ve gathered and looked at crime data from 19 zip codes, ranging from midtown, most of Buckhead/ Lenox Square, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Tucker, Atlanta Lavista Road/ North Druid Hills Rd areas, city of Decatur, Virginia-Highlands/ Morningside, Little 5 Points/ Inman Park, Candler Park, much of south DeKalb excluding Ellenwood and Lithonia. Five of the 19 zip codes are in south DeKalb (lying wholly in the proposed city of Greenhaven). The Atlanta, Tucker and city of Decatur zip codes were chosen because they are areas that are stereotypically thought of as great areas and are highly sought out to live in and are entertainment and/ or dining destinations.
Some highlights: The five zip codes in south DeKalb County (specifically the proposed city of Greenhaven: 30083, 30088, 30034, 30032, and 30035) have an average crime score of 186 for all crimes, the average personal crime score is 151 and the average property crime score is 197. The national crime score average is 100 in all types of crime.
If you are living, working or playing in some of the other zip codes, your chances of being a crime victim increases significantly.
Out of the 19 studied zip codes, you have the highest chance of being an overall crime victim in:Zip code 30306 (Virginia-Highland/ Morningside areas). The overall crime score for this zip code is 641. This is more than three times that of the south DeKalb zip codes.Zip code 30326 (Buckhead/ Lenox Square) has the highest score for personal crimes with 737. This is nearly a five times greater chance of being a victim of murder, rape, assault and robbery than you would in south DeKalb.The Virginia-Highland/ Morningside area (30306) has the highest score in property crime with 671. This is more than three times the chances of being a victim of a car theft, home burglary and larceny than in south DeKalb.Stone Mountain zip code 30088 had the second lowest crime score in all categories after zip code 30329 (Lavista Road/ North Druid Hills Road area).So if south DeKalb is NOT a hot bed of crime, why does the area have this reputation? It may be more about human nature than some great conspiracy. Many will repeat “truths” without experiencing first-hand that which they purport to know about. If your opinion on south DeKalb is formed mainly by the news media, then you will think that its gang and crime ridden.
South DeKalb suffers more from disinvestment than crime. It’s an area that experienced amazing growth during the 70’s and 80’s and as the ethnic demographics changed (without a drastic change in median income) the area’s reputation became increasingly colored by perception rather than reality. Even neighboring Gwinnett County, which has seen an increase in gang-related crimes, gets better treatment in the media.
The AJC story highlighted very real deaths and associations with gangs by these young men, but to include within the article statements such as: “In south DeKalb County, where the 20-year-old Campbell lived his entire life, violent deaths of young men are so common that a shorthand term has evolved for the nighttime vigil that follows so many shootings. It is, simply, a candlelight.” This is inflammatory writing where the writer chose to go with the status quo of throwing around the words “crime”, “murder”, and “gangs” to stick to an area that doesn't deserve it.

Click here to see the full crime comparison database.
Sources:AJC. Life, death and gangs in south DeKalbZipmap.DeKalb/ Fulton County Zip CodesMoving.com. Compare citiesCrimemapping. DeKalb County crimes

Copyright 2016 © Ari Meier

When Upscale Neighborhood Crime Rates are Higher Than Least Desirable Majority Minority Neighborhoods

Midtown Atlanta's Piedmont Park


























In metro Atlanta, Georgia, something interesting is forming and taking shape. Coalescing in southern DeKalb County is a movement that is a) trying to form a city (Greenhaven) to help improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and b) bringing together critical-thinking community members to address the issues and debunk the myths that often gather around diverse areas – in this case the issue of safety.
Crime is a hot topic. With a multitude of publications ranking the ‘safest neighborhoods’, many understandably make it a priority to peruse these lists and guides with the hopes of not only avoiding a high crime area when researching an area before purchasing a home, but to insure that the chosen neighborhood has a low likelihood of changing. Looks can be deceiving.
The issue is that people rarely get hard data to support this assessment. These labels bring huge economic costs: disinvestment, high unemployment in the community, low economic development potential, and lower home appreciation rates. Some of these communities have median incomes that are similar or close to that of other communities, but the high crime label supersedes any positive information about the community. You can go to much of the U.S. and find this dynamic repeated. A part of metro Atlanta is presented as a case study on this phenomenon and hard data is used to prove that looks are deceiving.
Using DeKalb County Georgia, and in particular, a proposed section that the think tank team refers to as Greenhaven is a case study of perception vs. reality when it comes to crime. The author took zip codes within the proposed Greenhaven and compared them to contiguous and nearby areas that are considered affluent, desirable and high in property value. This comparison was about assessing whether the following quote from a recent article in the major newspaper was reflective of the area.
“In south DeKalb County, where the 20-year-old Campbell lived his entire life, violent deaths of young men are so common that a shorthand term has evolved for the nighttime vigil that follows so many shootings. It is, simply, a candlelight”, declared the recent AJC article, “Life, death and gangs in south DeKalb.”
I hope these young men rest in peace and that their families and other survivors find healing and peace.
The AJC story highlights several young men that were killed since this past summer, and includes a map of where the young men lived and died. One problem: although ‘south DeKalb’ is in the story’s title, based on the story’s map, most of the killings occurred outside of south DeKalb- far outside, as in the Tucker/ Smoke Rise area. Most will agree that a killing is never good no matter where it happens, but in this case, the title of the article doesn’t accurately portray where the majority of these killings occurred.
The news reporting status quo goes something like this: “There was a killing in DeKalb”, “A young woman was murdered in ___________”. You are free to insert “DeKalb”, “DeKalb County” or “south DeKalb” onto the blank line. The AJC article and local news stations make it seem as if DeKalb County, specifically south DeKalb, is rife with crime.
South DeKalb has its share of problems, with crime being one of them. The point of this is not to trivialize those who have experienced crime of any type in south DeKalb. This is about correcting when there are errors. According to recent data from Moving.com, a part of the Realtor.com network, the risk of being a crime victim is higher in parts of the Atlanta metro area that you would least expect. For instance, in many Buckhead and midtown zip codes, your chances of being a victim of a crime are much higher than in south DeKalb. What is crime risk and how is it measured?
From the Moving.com site:Total Crime Risk - A score that represents the combined risks of rape, murder, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny and vehicle theft compared to the national average of 100. A score of 200 indicates twice the national average total crime risk, while 50 indicates half the national risk. The different types of crime are given equal weight in this score, so murder, for example, does not count more than vehicle theft. Scores are based on demographic and geographic analyses of crime over seven years.
Personal Crime Risk - Index score (100=National Average) that represents the combined risks of rape, murder, assault and robbery.
Property Crime Risk - Index score (100=National Average) that represents the combined risks of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
I’ve gathered and looked at crime data from 19 zip codes, ranging from midtown, most of Buckhead/ Lenox Square, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Tucker, Atlanta Lavista Road/ North Druid Hills Rd areas, city of Decatur, Virginia-Highlands/ Morningside, Little 5 Points/ Inman Park, Candler Park, much of south DeKalb excluding Ellenwood and Lithonia. Five of the 19 zip codes are in south DeKalb (lying wholly in the proposed city of Greenhaven). The Atlanta, Tucker and city of Decatur zip codes were chosen because they are areas that are stereotypically thought of as great areas and are highly sought out to live in and are entertainment and/ or dining destinations.
Some highlights: The five zip codes in south DeKalb County (specifically the proposed city of Greenhaven: 30083, 30088, 30034, 30032, and 30035) have an average crime score of 186 for all crimes, the average personal crime score is 151 and the average property crime score is 197. The national crime score average is 100 in all types of crime.
If you are living, working or playing in some of the other zip codes, your chances of being a crime victim increases significantly.
Out of the 19 studied zip codes, you have the highest chance of being an overall crime victim in:Zip code 30306 (Virginia-Highland/ Morningside areas). The overall crime score for this zip code is 641. This is more than three times that of the south DeKalb zip codes.Zip code 30326 (Buckhead/ Lenox Square) has the highest score for personal crimes with 737. This is nearly a five times greater chance of being a victim of murder, rape, assault and robbery than you would in south DeKalb.The Virginia-Highland/ Morningside area (30306) has the highest score in property crime with 671. This is more than three times the chances of being a victim of a car theft, home burglary and larceny than in south DeKalb.Stone Mountain zip code 30088 had the second lowest crime score in all categories after zip code 30329 (Lavista Road/ North Druid Hills Road area).So if south DeKalb is NOT a hot bed of crime, why does the area have this reputation? It may be more about human nature than some great conspiracy. Many will repeat “truths” without experiencing first-hand that which they purport to know about. If your opinion on south DeKalb is formed mainly by the news media, then you will think that its gang and crime ridden.
South DeKalb suffers more from disinvestment than crime. It’s an area that’s seen amazing growth during the 70’s and 80’s and as the ethnic demographics changed (without a drastic change in median income) the area’s reputation became increasingly colored by perception rather than reality. Even neighboring Gwinnett County, which has seen an increase in gang-related crimes, gets better treatment in the media.
The AJC story highlighted very real deaths and associations with gangs by these young men, but to include within the article statements such as: “In south DeKalb County, where the 20-year-old Campbell lived his entire life, violent deaths of young men are so common that a shorthand term has evolved for the nighttime vigil that follows so many shootings. It is, simply, a candlelight.” This is inflammatory writing where the writer chose to go with the status quo of throwing around the words “crime”, “murder”, and “gangs” to stick to an area that least deserves it.
Cityhood doesn’t solve everything as there are a myriad of cause and effect dynamics playing out in south DeKalb which has been slowly transforming the area for two decades; but all of this might not matter if the community is denied a right to vote on being a catalyst for change. There are many in southern DeKalb County that’s lived in the area for decades and have seen the quality of life decline. They want a reset and for them this reset is incorporating the area into Greenhaven.
Click here to see the full crime comparison database.
Sources:AJC. Life, death and gangs in south DeKalbZipmap.DeKalb/ Fulton County Zip CodesMoving.com. Compare citiesCrimemapping. DeKalb County crimes

Written by Ari MeierCopyright 2016 © Ari Meier

Stereotype Busting: Some “Bad” Neighborhoods Have Lower Crime Rates than “Good” Neighborhoods

In metro Atlanta, Georgia, something interesting is forming and taking shape. Coalescing in southern DeKalb County is a movement that is a) trying to form a city (Greenhaven) to help improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and b) bringing together critical-thinking community members to address the issues and debunk the myths that often gather around diverse areas – in this case the issue of safety.
Crime is a hot topic. With a multitude of publications ranking the ‘safest neighborhoods’, many understandably make it a priority to peruse these lists and guides with the hopes of not only avoiding a high crime area when researching an area before purchasing a home, but to insure that the chosen neighborhood has a low likelihood of changing. Looks can be deceiving.
The issue is that people rarely get hard data to support this assessment. These labels bring huge economic costs: disinvestment, high unemployment in the community, low economic development potential, and lower home appreciation rates. Some of these communities have median incomes that are similar or close to that of other communities, but the high crime label supersedes any positive information about the community. You can go to much of the U.S. and find this dynamic repeated. A part of metro Atlanta is presented as a case study on this phenomenon and hard data is used to prove that looks are deceiving.
Using DeKalb County Georgia, and in particular, a proposed section that the think tank team refers to as Greenhaven is a case study of perception vs. reality when it comes to crime. The author took zip codes within the proposed Greenhaven and compared them to contiguous and nearby areas that are considered affluent, desirable and high in property value. This comparison was about assessing whether the following quote from a recent article in the major newspaper was reflective of the area.
“In south DeKalb County, where the 20-year-old Campbell lived his entire life, violent deaths of young men are so common that a shorthand term has evolved for the nighttime vigil that follows so many shootings. It is, simply, a candlelight”, declared the recent AJC article, “Life, death and gangs in south DeKalb.”
I hope these young men rest in peace and that their families and other survivors find healing and peace.
The AJC story highlights several young men that were killed since this past summer, and includes a map of where the young men lived and died. One problem: although ‘south DeKalb’ is in the story’s title, based on the story’s map, most of the killings occurred outside of south DeKalb- far outside, as in the Tucker/ Smoke Rise area. Most will agree that a killing is never good no matter where it happens, but in this case, the title of the article doesn’t accurately portray where the majority of these killings occurred.
The news reporting status quo goes something like this: “There was a killing in DeKalb”, “A young woman was murdered in ___________”. You are free to insert “DeKalb”, “DeKalb County” or “south DeKalb” onto the blank line. The AJC article and local news stations make it seem as if DeKalb County, specifically south DeKalb, is rife with crime.
South DeKalb has its share of problems, with crime being one of them. The point of this is not to trivialize those who have experienced crime of any type in south DeKalb. This is about correcting when there are errors. According to recent data from Moving.com, a part of the Realtor.com network, the risk of being a crime victim is higher in parts of the Atlanta metro area that you would least expect. For instance, in many Buckhead and midtown zip codes, your chances of being a victim of a crime are much higher than in south DeKalb. What is crime risk and how is it measured?
From the Moving.com site:Total Crime Risk - A score that represents the combined risks of rape, murder, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny and vehicle theft compared to the national average of 100. A score of 200 indicates twice the national average total crime risk, while 50 indicates half the national risk. The different types of crime are given equal weight in this score, so murder, for example, does not count more than vehicle theft. Scores are based on demographic and geographic analyses of crime over seven years.
Personal Crime Risk - Index score (100=National Average) that represents the combined risks of rape, murder, assault and robbery.
Property Crime Risk - Index score (100=National Average) that represents the combined risks of burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
I’ve gathered and looked at crime data from 19 zip codes, ranging from midtown, most of Buckhead/ Lenox Square, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Tucker, Atlanta Lavista Road/ North Druid Hills Rd areas, city of Decatur, Virginia-Highlands/ Morningside, Little 5 Points/ Inman Park, Candler Park, much of south DeKalb excluding Ellenwood and Lithonia. Five of the 19 zip codes are in south DeKalb (lying wholly in the proposed city of Greenhaven). The Atlanta, Tucker and city of Decatur zip codes were chosen because they are areas that are stereotypically thought of as great areas and are highly sought out to live in and are entertainment and/ or dining destinations.
Some highlights: The five zip codes in south DeKalb County (specifically the proposed city of Greenhaven: 30083, 30088, 30034, 30032, and 30035) have an average crime score of 186 for all crimes, the average personal crime score is 151 and the average property crime score is 197. The national crime score average is 100 in all types of crime.
If you are living, working or playing in some of the other zip codes, your chances of being a crime victim increases significantly.
Out of the 19 studied zip codes, you have the highest chance of being an overall crime victim in:Zip code 30306 (Virginia-Highland/ Morningside areas). The overall crime score for this zip code is 641. This is more than three times that of the south DeKalb zip codes.Zip code 30326 (Buckhead/ Lenox Square) has the highest score for personal crimes with 737. This is nearly a five times greater chance of being a victim of murder, rape, assault and robbery than you would in south DeKalb.The Virginia-Highland/ Morningside area (30306) has the highest score in property crime with 671. This is more than three times the chances of being a victim of a car theft, home burglary and larceny than in south DeKalb.Stone Mountain zip code 30088 had the second lowest crime score in all categories after zip code 30329 (Lavista Road/ North Druid Hills Road area).So if south DeKalb is NOT a hot bed of crime, why does the area have this reputation? It may be more about human nature than some great conspiracy. Many will repeat “truths” without experiencing first-hand that which they purport to know about. If your opinion on south DeKalb is formed mainly by the news media, then you will think that its gang and crime ridden.
South DeKalb suffers more from disinvestment than crime. It’s an area that’s seen amazing growth during the 70’s and 80’s and as the ethnic demographics changed (without a drastic change in median income) the area’s reputation became increasingly colored by perception rather than reality. Even neighboring Gwinnett County, which has seen an increase in gang-related crimes, gets better treatment in the media.
The AJC story highlighted very real deaths and associations with gangs by these young men, but to include within the article statements such as: “In south DeKalb County, where the 20-year-old Campbell lived his entire life, violent deaths of young men are so common that a shorthand term has evolved for the nighttime vigil that follows so many shootings. It is, simply, a candlelight.” This is inflammatory writing where the writer chose to go with the status quo of throwing around the words “crime”, “murder”, and “gangs” to stick to an area that least deserves it.
Cityhood doesn’t solve everything as there are a myriad of cause and effect dynamics playing out in south DeKalb which has been slowly transforming the area for two decades; but all of this might not matter if the community is denied a right to vote on being a catalyst for change. There are many in southern DeKalb County that’s lived in the area for decades and have seen the quality of life decline. They want a reset and for them this reset is incorporating the area into Greenhaven.
Click here to see the full crime comparison database.
Sources:AJC. Life, death and gangs in south DeKalbZipmap. DeKalb/ Fulton County Zip CodesMoving.com. Compare citiesCrimemapping. DeKalb County crimes

Written by Ari MeierCopyright 2016 © Ari Meier