The Challenge

On August 16, 2021 Atlanta City Council voted to postpone leasing hundreds of acres of forested land to the Atlanta Police Foundation for the construction of a $90 million police and fire training facility. Residents, advocates, and environmental leaders argued that community voice has been largely absent in the decision-making process. There was no empirical research on the opinion of Atlanta residents about the Cop City project.

The Approach

Effective community-based research can provide data on community awareness of policy, potential community impact, and the type of development residents want in their neighborhoods. Social Insights CEO, Dr. Zuri Tau designed a survey tool that was disseminated through an anonymous link (via qualtrics software restricting duplicate entries and filtering for bots) and through in-person canvassing of South Atlanta neighborhoods in September of 2021.

This project was designed to meet the need for research that could inform this important public policy decision. Because of the short time period, Social Insights asked for data analysis support from the Ubuntu Research and Evaluation team. The team conducted data analysis and contributed to research findings.