Two years ago, a noted economist wondered in print if Atlanta was another Detroit, a place where “the American dream seems to be dying, where the children of the poor have great difficulty climbing the economic ladder.” Earlier this year, AJC reporters Dan Chapman, Jeff Ernsthausen and Michael Kanell compared Atlanta to Charlotte and the Dallas-Fort Worth market in a series of articles that found our city didn’t measure up so well. Today’s writers, though, say our major hub has challenges but suggest the good outweighs the bad.

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Gwinnett County’s own, commissioned 2022 housing study identified homelessness — and the increased need for resources such as transitional housing — as a critical challenge, Rep. Marvin Lim writes. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2022)

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

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Students line up after school for school buses at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The school’s principal told teachers not to talk to students about ICE, and teachers and activists are pushing back. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com