The data available on housing affordability and transportation costs imposed on the region’s households indicate that the cost of shelter only presents half the picture for affordability in the region. While living great distances from employment centers and incurring long and costly commutes in exchange for less expensive housing prices has traditionally been the trend for Atlanta, in the face of rising energy costs and amplified traffic congestion this pattern is proving unsustainable and unaffordable.

 A more comprehensive way of thinking about the cost of housing and its true affordability should also include the impact that transportation costs associated with housing location have on a household’s wallet.  As the maps on this page illustrate, the region’s outer suburbs housing costs appear more affordable than housing located closer to the region’s core. However, consideration of the yearly transportation costs associated with these same communities paints a more comprehensive affordability picture than just considering housing costs alone. While creating communities that provide both housing and transportation affordability will require strategic and multijurisdictional collaboration, the time is upon us to shift the way we have traditionally thought of housing costs in order to effectively address the affordability issue. 

Learn More
Center for Neighborhood Technology: http://www.cnt.org/tcd/
Housing + Transportation Affordability Index for the City of Atlanta , developed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology