Locked Out: How Georgia's Housing Policies Disproportionately Impact Returning Citizens

Formerly incarcerated individuals face steep barriers to stable housing, particularly in urban areas where land use policy intersects with racial and economic inequality. This study examines how exclusionary zoning practices in Atlanta, Georgia, shape spatial disparities in housing access for returning citizens. Using a spatial-quantitative approach, I develop the Wright Housing Access Index (WHAI) by overlaying single-family zoning designations with census tract–level indicators of race, poverty, and renter occupancy. The index is compared with the geographic distribution of state-operated reentry service facilities to assess alignment between need and institutional support. Findings reveal a pronounced spatial mismatch: tracts exhibiting the highest demographic vulnerability are disproportionately zoned for single-family use and remain significantly underserved by reentry programs. Hot spot analysis further identifies clusters of compounded disadvantage concentrated in South and Southwest Atlanta. These results demonstrate that zoning regulations, when not aligned with equity or reentry objectives, can inadvertently reinforce housing precarity for formerly incarcerated populations. The study concludes by recommending targeted zoning reforms, the strategic placement of reentry services guided by spatial equity metrics, and greater interagency coordination to reduce structural barriers to reentry and promote more inclusive housing access.