What's Next ATL Podcast

The pandemic has changed a lot — including, for many of us, work. In this episode, how we got here and how the telework revolution is impacting everything from how we work, to what our workplaces look like, to our attitudes about how we spend those 40+ hours. What's Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. More at whatsnextatl.org/podcast. Georgia Commute Options offers consulting at no cost to organizations looking to get up to speed on telework and flexwork. For more, email info@gacommuteoptins.com or call 877-942-6784.

In this episode: the story of someone who's done everything she was supposed to and is still facing eviction. It's the kind of story that's becoming alarmingly common in our region — and experts say it's likely about to get much worse following the end of a national moratorium on evictions in August. Today, we hear about this crisis's likely dramatic ripple effects, and what can be done.  What's Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. More at whatsnextatl.org/podcast, including resources for renters in danger of eviction.

How could 125 miles of trail along the Chattahoochee River transform our relationship with Atlanta's natural landscape and while really and truly serving the underinvested communities in its path? This ep, we discuss the Chattahoochee Riverlands project with Kate Orff and Na'Taki Osbourne Jelks. What's Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. More at whatsnextatl.org/podcast. 

We spend a morning at the Peachtree Street Demonstration Project, which is testing how a three-block span of shared space for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists works for all those groups. What's Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. More at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

The language we use to talk about a topic influences how we think about it. And with an entrenched issue like housing affordability, it also impacts the solutions we imagine are possible. This episode, we talk with Dr. Tiffany Manuel, an expert in social justice movements and the narratives around them — about how the narratives and language we use around housing affordability may be hindering our progress — and how we can do better. What's Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. More at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

How do we build communities that work for people of all ages when many of us don’t want to think about aging at all — especially not our own? This episode, we talk with Ashton Applewhite, TED Talk speaker and author of “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism.” What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. More at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

If you’re a homeowner, much of your house’s value comes from the land it sits on. That’s the fact that drives community land trusts, a strategy to fight gentrification that’s gaining traction. We talk to JaTawn Robinson, who found housing affordability by purchasing a community land trust house through the Atlanta nonprofit Atlanta Land Trust. Plus, we explore the legacy that inspired this model: our nation’s appalling history of racist housing policy. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. More at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.  

Even amidst economic growth, metro Atlanta was a region beset by inequity. What happens, then, when a pandemic and an economic crisis come to town? This episode breaks it down, number by number. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

The story of how staff at the Center for Pan-Asian Community Services came together in a matter of weeks, to change everything about what they did in order to continue to offer sustenance and care to older refugees and immigrants during the coronavirus pandemic. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

So, you’re working at home. And maybe you have everything you need to do it right: your ergonomic chair, your well-lit home office, and your robot nanny bringing you fresh lattes. Or maybe you’re like many of us and find yourself a little stressed by how teleworking is turning out during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s a conversation with Georgia Commute Options’ Roz Tucker. We talked about just how to do this telecommuting thing under less-than-ideal conditions. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Could that cute little backyard cottage solve housing affordability? Okay, so…no, not by itself. But more and more, people are looking to accessory dwelling units — ADUs, for short — to add needed variety to housing choices in metro Atlanta so that people at different stages of life and income-levels can afford to live here. ADUs provide spaces for more than one household to share a single piece of land — whether it’s an in-law suite, a basement apartment, or a tiny house in the backyard. In this episode, we talk with Will Johnston of Microlife Institute about why he’s on a mission to get people to dream small. And, we pay a visit a Tiny House Festival, because…um…why not?! What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Workforce automation is growing around the nation and right here in metro Atlanta, and — whether you know it or not — likely has some major effects on your job, too. This episode, we’ll hear about how artificial intelligence and other kinds of automation are already deeply enmeshed in our lives — as well as both the challenges and very real opportunities they pose. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Whether you call it new urbanism, live-work-play or something else, a certain type of development is sweeping the country right now — and making a big splash right here in the ATL. And despite the fact that this phenom’ is often called “urbanism,” many suburban metro ATL communities are leading the way in the movement toward pedestrian-friendly communities with a distinct sense of place. To understand more about why this is happening and what it might mean for our future, we talk with Ellen Dunham-Jones, director of the Master of Science in Urban Design program at Georgia Tech. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Today, we bring you Archive Atlanta. You know how What’s Next ATL looks to what our future might hold? Well, in her podcast, Victoria Lemos brings listeners stories from Atlanta’s past—and they’re great. This week, we bring you an episode called “Ward System,” explaining how and why the city became broken up into wards—you know, like the Fourth Ward. We’ll be back with a new episode of What’s Next ATL the usual time—next Wednesday morning. See ya then.

How did it come to be that a small city a full 30 miles north of the city of Atlanta set the precedent for so-called “urban” design — the sort of pedestrian-friendly planning that’s taking suburban and in-town neighborhoods alike by storm? In this episode, we hear the story of Woodstock, Georgia, long a fairly-typical suburb, characterized by fairly-typical suburban development. Today, its downtown is a regional destination and a model for new urbanism. How did that happen, and what can the rest of us learn from the tale? What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

What will metro Atlanta look like in 2050? And what do we do now, to make it the place we want? Internationally-renowned futurist Glen Hiemstra fills us in on the large-scale trends he says will shape the region between now and 2050, and a couple of folks who do it for a living talk about how to plan for a future you can’t know completely. Also…cute kids! The prognostications of children from the late-‘90s for the distant year of…2020. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Season 2 is almost here. This time around, we’re asking one simple question: How do we build the communities we want? From the big-picture prognostications for our next 30 years, to metro Atlanta’s changing cities and neighborhoods, to the future of work, down to the very homes we live in, we’ll explore how to get from where we are now…to where we want to be. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

In this bonus episode, we talk about how you—yes, you—can get involved with a long-range planning effort for metro Atlanta that looks all the way out to the year 2050. Planners want your input on The Atlanta Region’s Plan, which covers areas from housing affordability to transportation to economic growth in metro Atlanta. We also talk about the latest developments in public outreach for plans like this. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…an online game! Sort of a complex “Choose Your Own Adventure” for grown-ups. What kind of future do you think we’ll have, metro Atlanta? Go to atlantaregionsplan.org/update to have your say and learn more. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Get psyched, because this fall, we’re returning with the question: How do we build the community we want? From tiny houses in our backyards, to breweries in our suburban town centers, to questions of job security in the age of robots, we’ll look at how we got here, where we’re going, and…how on earth do we get there? What’s Next ATL. The big new ideas shaping metro Atlanta, brought to you by the nerds at the Atlanta Regional Commission, plus one former public radio nerd. Subscribe where you get podcasts. See you soon.

In this bonus episode, we ask leaders from around the region to tell us what they see as the biggest issues facing the Atlanta region for 2019. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Close your eyes and think, “tractor-trailer driver.” Who do you picture? If you said, “a tough older guy,” you wouldn’t be off the mark. Truckers have a hard job which requires some resiliency. And 94% of them are men, with an average age of 55. As another point of trivia, most truck drivers are white. None of these describe Q. Johnson. Except maybe the tough part. In this episode, we hear Q’s story – about how a local program that uses federal funding to provide training for high-demand jobs allowed her to pursue her dream job – and her ups and downs since then.  What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Driverless cars and “connected technology” are making headlines across the country and right here in metro Atlanta. But why should any of this interest any but the tech-nerdiest among us? Well, it turns out it’s about a lot more than getting from point A to point B. It’s about equity. The environment. And how we use our space. When tech advances, who benefits? What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Aging? Then this story’s for you. And, guess what? We’re all aging. In this episode, we visit two older women who became roommates to save money. But they’ve enjoyed the experience so much that now they want to start a movement in the Atlanta region. And it turns out this is happening around the country. It’s a national trend, called “Golden Girls” housing—like the old TV show. In just 12 years, one in four of us will be 60 or older in metro Atlanta. And as our demographics shift along with the rest of the nation, we need to change how we think about building communities that work for everyone. This episode unpacks all of that. What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Whether we’re renters or homeowners, housing affordability is a problem for many of us—certainly around the entire country, but increasingly, right here in metro Atlanta. In this episode, we set out to learn more: What’s contributing to metro Atlanta’s housing affordability problem, and what are people doing about it? What’s Next ATL is powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission and hosted by Kate Sweeney. Find out more about the show at whatsnextatl.org/podcast.

Put your hand up if you knew that Georgia’s second longest river runs beneath Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – and that it runs in culverts and ditches through no fewer than five cities and counties surrounding the airport before leaving the metro area. Keep your hand up if you knew that that river—the Flint—is at the center of an effort to increase greenspace while promoting responsible development in the neighborhoods surrounding the airport. It’s a dream that’s sort of like the Atlanta BeltLine of the south side…if, instead of railroad tracks, you had water, and the world’s busiest airport. And that’s what this episode’s all about. [subhead] The guests Hannah Palmer, of the Finding the Flint campaign, and author of “Flight Path: A Search for Roots Beneath the World's Busiest Airport” Katherine Zitsch, Manager of Natural Resources at the Atlanta Regional Commission