Acknowledgements, Methodology & Technical Notes
Acknowledgements
This report was authored by the Policy & Research Department of Kindred Futures, including: Alex Camardelle, Ph.D; Joseph-Emery Kouaho, Ph.D; Miriam Van Dyke, Ph.D, M.P.H.; and Joni Webster, Ph.D, M.P.H.
This report was made possible with generous support from the Sustainable Cities Fund.
We acknowledge and appreciate the lived expertise and perspectives shared by community members in this report. We thank those who engaged with us in this endeavor for entrusting us with their stories so we can collectively strive for a brighter future.
Special thanks to Mike Carnathon and Tommy Pearce of Neighborhood Nexus for critical support in the implementation of the community resident survey and Saba Long of Atlanta Civic Circle for media and communications support throughout this initiative.
We are also grateful to the Atlanta Partnership Table for their partnership in stewarding this work and providing expert feedback on an early version of the community resident survey.
We are especially grateful to Janelle Williams, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer of Kindred Futures, and Katrice Mines, Senior Storytelling and Communications Associate, for their thoughtful review and editorial guidance and Streamlined Media & Communications LLC for the report design and data visualization.
Methodology & Technical Notes:
Survey: Kindred Futures partnered with Neighborhood Nexus to conduct a survey to gather residents’ opinions on climate change, weatherization, utility bills, and their families’ ability to build wealth. The survey was fielded June 16 – June 23, 2025, and respondents were recruited using a combination of direct email and text message outreach using Atlanta POV, a panel of City of Atlanta residents, and registered voter lists. Residents from Southwest Atlanta zipcodes were oversampled, given the disproportionate climate risk burden Southwest communities experience. The first 200 people to complete the survey received a $50 gift card incentive. A total of 385 City of Atlanta residents completed the survey. The distribution of participant residence zipcodes is visualized below. The six zip codes with the highest number of participants included: 30331, 30311, 30310, 30354, 30315, and 30318. These zip codes represented 261 of the 385 total survey respondents. Survey responses were analyzed by Neighborhood Nexus using Microsoft Excel.
Interviews: Kindred Futures conducted five in-depth semi-structured interviews with four community residents (three renters, one homeowner) and one Atlanta business owner to understand how they are affected by climate change and extreme weather events. Participants provided their consent. The interviews covered participant characteristics, housing and business tenure, climate awareness and risks, home and business weatherization, energy and utility costs, neighborhood environment and infrastructure, and participant-informed recommendations for lawmakers for solutions to help manage the impact of climate change and extreme weather. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was performed using MAXQDA.
Maps: Administrative data from various sources were mapped at the census tract and zip code level using PolicyMap.
Data indicators included:
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