New cities continue to form in some regions of the US, mostly around suburban and exurban communities in the American South. While many newly formed cities have populations that are predominantly white and wealthy, some communities that are majority-Black have started organizing to form their own municipal governments.

In a related publication, we show that new cities with majority-white populations may see home prices increase after incorporation, while some new cities with majority-Black populations experience no effect or the opposite effect. In this publication, we analyze the role of the built environment in explaining these differences between majority-white and majority-Black newly incorporated cities. We employed a digital ethnography methodology and compared Google Street View images in majority-white new cities and majority-Black new cities near metropolitan Atlanta to assess how the built environment changes before and after new cities are incorporated.

What We Found

We found the following differences in the preincorporation built environment when comparing Google Street View images of areas that became majority-white and majority-Black newly incorporated cities in Metro Atlanta.

• Majority-Black new cities tended to be less developed compared with majority-white new cities and our goal was to identify whether the physical space and characteristics of these cities showed any legacy of the history of segregationist policies that resulted in patterns of uneven racial outcomes across communities in the US. For instance, we looked at the quality of sidewalks, buildings and landscaping.
• Majority-Black new cities were relatively rural and suburban with lower population densities and more vacant land compared with majority-white new cities. (see Google Street View example below).
• Majority-white new cities had a greater share of commercial space compared with majority-Black new cities (see Google Street View example below).

Example of a Commercial Street/Highway in a Majority-Black New City Before and After Incorporation

2007: Highway with vacant land on the sides.

2023: Highway with vacant land on the sides and no sign of additional development compared with 2007.

Example of a Commercial Street/Highway in a Majority-White New City Before and After Incorporation

2007: Street with tall apartment building and vacant land. Sidewalk available.

2024: Street with tall apartment building and a new apartment building where the vacant land was. New sidewalk next to the building and what seems like new pavement painting.

We also found differences in the period after incorporation between majority-white and majority-Black newly incorporated cities.

• Majority-white new cities experienced greater improvement in their built environment after incorporation compared with majority-Black new cities.
• Residential areas in majority-Black new cities did not appear to have high levels of visible renovations or expansions in street infrastructure, building façades, or types of developments (see Google Street View example below).
• Majority-white new cities had more rapid development of residential and commercial infrastructure, including new apartment buildings and improved building façades (see Google Street View example below).

Example of a Residential Street in a Majority-White New City Before and After Incorporation

2008: Street with single-family homes that seem to be one level. There is no sidewalk and the pavement on the street is cracked.

2022: Street with single family homes that are now two levels with modernized façades. A sidewalk has been added and the pavement has been patched.

Example of a Residential Street in a Majority-Black New City Before and After Incorporation

2008: Street with potholes and a single-family home with an unmaintained façade and front lawn. No sidewalk.

2019: Street that has been repaved and a single-family home with an unmaintained façade and front lawn. No sidewalk. Change in the pavement but no sign of changes in the façades of the buildings

The qualitative differences observed in our research of the built environment of new majority-white and majority-Black cities stem from a documented history of urban, state, and federal policies that have affected white-majority and Black-majority spaces differently. Our finding that the initial built environments are different highlights the unequal starting points for economic development in new cities with different majority populations.

How We Did It

We conducted a digital ethnography to measure the physical conditions of newly incorporated cities by focusing on several characteristics of the built environment across cities in Metro Atlanta. We collected and coded Google Street View images for two majority-white cities (Sandy Springs and Brookhaven) and two majority-Black new cities (South Fulton and Stonecrest).

Our data collection began in R by randomly sampling coordinate points along streets for each of the four cities. Our observations and coding focused on the physical conditions and characteristics of these cities, particularly those related to residential quality of life and public investment (including the types of developments they had, the quality of buildings and public infrastructure, and the existence of landscaping and greenery). We looked at these conditions before and after incorporation for all cities except for Sandy Spring (because it was incorporated before 2007, when Google started collecting images for Street View). While this analysis is qualitative and nonrepresentative, it illustrates how past differences in investments for developing communities and their built environments may persist and affect the development of communities today.