ON THE RECORD

From the survey findings of “Metro Atlanta Speaks: Taking the Pulse of Metro Residents”

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is known for its regional data. But one thing ARC had never done is ask our residents how they feel about metro Atlanta.

Recently, ARC commissioned one of the largest public opinion surveys in our region’s history. The result is the first “Metro Atlanta Speaks” regional survey. We now have a statistically valid snapshot of what residents in our 10-county region think about some of the major issues and opportunities here.

This public opinion survey … asked more than 2,100 voting-age residents to voice their opinions on how the 10-county Atlanta region rates in terms of key quality-of-life issues like transportation, education, the economy, the arts and aging in the Atlanta region. This statistically significant survey paints a fascinating picture of the Atlanta region.

While it is important to get a point-in-time understanding of how residents perceive the quality-of-life in metro Atlanta, the true value of this survey will be to understand how these perceptions change over time.

Here are some findings from the survey:

• Respondents said that the "Economy" (25 percent of respondents chose this option) was the most pressing issue facing metro Atlanta. Next were "Traffic" (21 percent), "Crime" (17 percent) and "Public Education" (13 percent).
• Some 75 percent of respondents rated metro Atlanta's economy as either "about the same" or "much or slightly better" when compared to other metro areas' economies.
• An overwhelming majority (71 percent) said that improved public transportation is "very important" for metro Atlanta's future.

How respondents rated the metro Atlanta economy as compared to other metropolitan areas: