December 17, 2025 / Commuting, Safety

Traffic Deaths Now Exceed Homicides Across Metro Atlanta’s Core CountiesImage

A new story map, The Human Cost of Mobility: 2024, reveals that traffic crashes have become one of the deadliest—and least visible—public safety crises in Metro Atlanta. Across five core counties, roadway deaths now surpass homicides, with fatalities concentrated in historically disinvested communities and along a small number of high-risk corridors, underscoring how transportation policy choices continue to shape who is most at risk.

Key takeaways:

  • In 2024, traffic crashes killed 425 people across Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties—more than the 410+ homicides recorded in the same area.
  • Traffic deaths are deeply inequitable: predominantly Black neighborhoods make up 43% of census tracts but account for more than 61% of all traffic fatalities.
  • A small share of infrastructure drives a large share of harm: just 1.2% of roadways account for nearly 11% of fatal crashes across the five-county region.

Read the full report here.

February 19, 2025 / Safety

Atlanta’s Violent Crime Third-year DeclineImage

The Research and Analytics Division of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) published an analysis of the 2024 violent crime data for the city of Atlanta. In the 33°n blog, they analyze data from the Atlanta Police Department’s Open Data Portal, focusing on long-term trends and variations across different parts of the city.

Here are the Key Takeaways:

  • Historic Low in Violent Crime: After a surge between 2018 and 2021, Atlanta’s violent crime rate has now declined for three consecutive years, reaching a historic low in 2024.
  • Robbery Declines, Homicide Remains a Concern: While robbery rates have steadily dropped since 2009, homicides remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, despite a recent decline.
  • Citywide Crime Reduction: Most areas of Atlanta have experienced a downward trend in violent crime since 2009, with 18 of 25 NPUs seeing a year-over-year decline in 2024.
  • Perception vs. Reality: Despite the data showing significant crime reductions, public perception lags behind, with crime still rated as the top concern by Atlanta residents in surveys.

Read the full post here.

June 26, 2024 / Health, Safety

Firearm violence was declared as a public health crisis – US Surgeon General ReportImage

This week, the US Surgeon General declared Firearm Violence a Public Health Crisis. The 40-page report outlines the scope of firearm violence and provides recommendations on firearm Risk reduction, as well as violence prevention strategies.

Here are some of the takeaways:

  • Firearm-related injuries have been the leading cause of death for children and adolescents since 2020.
  • The rate of firearm-related suicide increased by 20% across the population between 2012 and 2022, with the highest increase among younger people.
  • In 2015, the overall firearm-related death rate was 11.4 times higher in the U.S. compared to 28 other high-income nations.
  • More than three-quarters of adults (79%) in the U.S. report experiencing stress from the possibility of a mass shooting, and one in three adults (33%) say fear prevents them from going to certain places or events.
  • Local exposure to fatal school shootings is associated with a 21.4% increase in youth antidepressant use in the following 2 years.
  • About 56% of unintentional firearm deaths among children and adolescents between 2003 and 2021 happened in their own homes.

Click here to read the full report with more insights and information about firearm violence in the U.S.