ATLANTA – The economy has replaced crime as the issue of top concern to metro Atlanta residents, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) reported Friday.
According to the ARC’s annual public opinion survey, 32% of respondents rated the economy as the biggest problem facing the Atlanta region. Crime, which was the top concern in last year’s poll, was rated second this year at 20%. Human services followed at 12%.
“The Metro Atlanta Speaks survey is an invaluable tool that helps guide our efforts to build a better region for all metro Atlanta residents,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who also serves as chairman of the ARC. “This year’s survey shows the people remain concerned about the economy and other pocketbook issues like housing costs.”
Among the highlights of this year’s poll, 64% of respondents said they could not afford to move to another house or apartment in their current neighborhood.
More than nine in 10 respondents said improving public transit is “very important” or “somewhat important” to the region’s future. More than half said climate change will be a “major global threat” in the next decade.
In answer to a new question this year, 42% of the survey’s respondents said they think artificial intelligence will have a “mostly negative” impact on society, while 30% said it will be “more balanced” and 22% said it will be “mostly positive.”
In another new question, 39% of respondents said they feel their financial situation is about the same as it was a year ago, while 31% said they are worse off and 28% said they are better off.
The hybrid phone and online poll questioned 4,081 adults across the 11-county Atlanta region, with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.5%. It was conducted by Kennesaw State University’s A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research.