Before Canopy Atlanta asked Tri-Cities community members what journalism would best serve their community, we turned to the area’s rich arts and culture history, deriving from places like Hapeville Depot Museum, ArtsXChange, and Tri-Cities High School. We spoke with over 140 residents and community members, and many of them would later describe these hubs as where connection, cultural expression and the heart of the cities that more than 60,000 residents call home.

The historic downtowns of East Point, Hapeville and College Park also proved to be bustling areas for riveting chats about what drew residents to these communities and what they hoped to see change. We spoke to folks in College Park’s Main Street, some who were waiting to fly out of the nearby Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. There we heard about the convenience of their neighborhood yet hometown feel, variety of art scene haunts, and the growing number of millennials moving to the area.

Dozens of our conversations occurred at Coffee Man Hapeville, a trendy coffee shop once known as Drip Coffee. The shop manager, a 20-something, part-time theater actor at Academy Theatre named S-netchem Castro, had moved from Philadelphia to Hapeville for the affordability and instant creative tribe. Within months of being in Hapeville, Castro said they felt a sense of community and open-mindedness they hadn’t experienced back in Philadelphia.

Most who sat and sipped hot beverages at Coffee Man were working remotely as we interviewed them over the last months of fall 2023 and early days of winter 2024. One such resident, Sissie Lang, has called the Tri-Cities home for more than 30 years. The East Point resident and co-founder of the East Point Farmers Market has made community development her life’s calling. 

Lang said she sees the Tri-Cities in the middle of an identity crisis. Big industry, by way of the Delta Air Lines headquarters and Porsche Experience Center America,  has staked its claim in the area. Meanwhile, dozens of homes and apartments are cropping up—at times going for as much as $500,000—in a community where poverty levels hover around 18%. 

Lang would like to see more done in the way of affordable housing, food access, and more. “It’s a question of, how do we stay connected yet still grow?”

—Stephanie Toone, Community Engagement Editor

Here are the takeaways from what more than 140 Tri-Cities community members said,  when we asked the following questions: (Some quotes may be lightly paraphrased for clarity.)

What do you love about your community? 

• I love the neighbors. We have many active community associations in East Point, and there are lots of opportunities to socialize and meet new people.
• A lot of Black history. Lots of musicians are from Tri-Cities: Ludacris, Outkast. There is a rich heritage here.
• Culture. Mix of ethnic groups. Ownership of restaurants owned by folks of color.
• We’ve got things like urban farming going with the Truly Living Well farm, and here we have a group of young people who urban garden.
• We’ve also got so many programs here that help seniors and families. I see seniors walking on the trails and at Greenbriar Mall. There’s always something for them to do.
• I love that Tri-Cities feels like a small town but is only 15 minutes away from Atlanta.
• Hapeville still has that hometown feel but is connected to the rest of the world. The airport is four minutes away.

What are some community issues you would like to learn more about or see changed?

• Grocery stores are lacking. There was an agricultural initiative that was underway but it lost funding and hasn’t been continued.
• No mixed-use buildings, not walkable, needs sidewalk accessibility.
• Gentrification. Ownership back to minorities. Affordable homes. Keeping elderly in a fair tax bracket.
• [I’d] like to see East Point politics covered more closely. Some questionable things have happened.
• Shooting, police are lax, hears gunshots once a week.
• There is no hospital in South Fulton.
• I think we need better transit. I’m coming here everyday from the city, and it’s not easy without the bus and the train. It would be nice to have a train that comes right to downtown.

Does Tri-Cities have sufficient affordable housing for its residents? If not, what more could be done to provide that housing?

• There has been a lot of gentrification and the housing market has exploded. 
• We found out it’s not cheaper to live out here than where we came from. We thought it would be.
• Hapeville has some affordable housing, but that’s not common in this area. The parts of College Park and East Point that are sort of affordable are tough to live in.
• Housing is not affordable. It just seems like Atlanta is trying to be NYC. That’s what’s happening here.
• The markets have outpriced. You’re talking about tiny homes that are $500,000 here.
• I think they have to do something about the elderly people being able to keep their homes. They need new roofs and maintenance, but they can’t afford it.

What would support you and your family right now?

• Coffee Man
• Hapeville Elementary School
• Hapeville Public Library
• Beer Girl Brewery
• Jess Lucas Y-Teen Park
• Kupcakerie
• Rich & Poor Opulence Lounge
• College Park Library 
• Tracey Wyatt Recreation Center
• Hapeville Depot Museum
• ArtsXchange
• Q&H Coin Laundry
• Downtown College Park
• Nature’s Own Herb Shop
• Del Mar Apartments
• Downtown Hapeville

Age

Gender

Race/ethnicity

Respondent residence

Canopy Atlanta is working with Tri-Cities Fellows and journalists to write the stories we heard about in our listening conversations. Those stories will be published in the Tri-Cities Community Issue in September / October 2024.

Residents or people with ties to Tri-Cities can complete this 3-minute survey to tell us what matters to them to inform our reporting and the stories that are selected. 

Explore more ways to get involved with Canopy Atlanta.