About this investigation
After the AJC began publishing its 2022 Dangerous Dwellings series, Atlanta leaders pledged to take action against dangerous apartment complexes. Reporter Willoughby Mariano sought to find out whether the steps they took improved the lives of people who call these complexes home.
To do so, Mariano followed the lives of tenants at Atlanta’s Pavilion Place, paying special attention to resident Danielle Russell, whom the series featured. They spoke regularly for nearly two years. Russell shared photographs, video and records of conditions, which Mariano corroborated through public records requests and other reporting.
Mariano tracked the city of Atlanta’s enforcement efforts by observing municipal housing court hearings, gathering hundreds of court records, making public records requests to local and state agencies, reviewing property records, interviewing administrators, attending inspections, and contacting apartment owners through phone calls, visits and emails. She and AJC reporter Donovan Thomas also visited the locations of dozens of code violations after owners said they made repairs, speaking with residents and assessing whether problems remained.
