RESEARCH QUESTION 01
Select the right scale for households and employment
The Atlanta Regional Commission provides a county data dashboard and a regional housing strategy toolkit covering population, employment and housing information. These are starting points for understanding the community around a proposed investment. Define the actual trade area and compare its customers and competing properties with the broader indicators. Apartment demand requires a unit and rent comparison; a neighborhood laundry needs evidence about households and existing services. Preserve the data period and distinguish observed conditions from projections. Connect county trends to the subject location before using them in sales or occupancy assumptions.
Official resource: Atlanta Regional Commission data resources →RESEARCH QUESTION 02
Connect the business layout to its local planning context
Atlanta's GIS resources bring city boundaries, zoning and land-use information into the early parcel review. Confirm whether the site is within the City of Atlanta before selecting those records; another metro municipality or county has its own planning authority. Gather the concept plan and any existing correspondence about the intended operation. Compare customer access, building use and service areas with the recorded context, and identify questions requiring an agency or design professional's interpretation. This helps keep a restaurant, apartment or hotel proposal tied to the actual parcel while its costs and operating capacity are being developed.
Official resource: City of Atlanta GIS and planning maps →RESEARCH QUESTION 03
Resolve sewer questions before fixing the development program
Atlanta Watershed Management describes a sewer-capacity certification process for developments connecting to the city's sanitary sewer system, with staff determining the applicable review. For a site served by that system, supply the proposed use, expected capacity and available utility records early. A change in apartment count, guest rooms or water-dependent equipment can alter the questions the provider needs to answer. Keep any agency response with the project budget and concept plan. The feasibility study can then distinguish a documented service assumption from work still needing investigation, rather than treating the presence of an existing connection as confirmation for every proposed use.
Official resource: Atlanta Watershed Management capacity certification →