Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in Georgia, with over 500,000 residents and a metropolitan area of nearly 6 million people. Known as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement and home to leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta has a long history of social justice activism and community organizing. The City of Atlanta is committed to achieving 100% clean energy community-wide by 2035 and to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 59% by 2030. Through initiatives like Clean Energy Atlanta and the Climate Resilience Action Plan, the City is working to reduce both emissions and energy cost burdens for the most impacted households by decarbonizing buildings and expanding access to clean energy.
Atlanta Programs, Policies, and Strategies
Atlanta residents face significant energy costs, with 28% of households experiencing high energy cost burdens. Many homes are decades old and need extensive repairs, and many also lack basic energy efficiency features, which drives up energy costs. While over 20 home repair and retrofit programs exist in Atlanta, they operate independently and have complex applications, creating barriers to residents' access to these services – particularly for seniors, non-English speakers, and those with limited digital access.
BEI, in partnership with Elevate, began working with the City of Atlanta and multiple local partners in 2025 to support the development of an integrated Retrofit Navigator program that will streamline access to comprehensive home repair and energy efficiency services. BEI helped the City’s Co-Design Lab conduct a landscape analysis of existing programs, facilitate a working group of more than 40 program implementer staff and residents, and co-create the ROOTED: Critical Home Repair and Weatherization Network program that creates a “one-stop shop" Retrofit Navigator for multiple building upgrade needs. This coordinated approach will allow families to access support for a range of upgrades, including electrical upgrades, weatherization, lead and mold remediation, and roof repairs – addressing holistic building needs while improving energy affordability, health, and housing outcomes.
BEI and Elevate will continue working with Atlanta and its partners to build out the Retrofit Navigator program and evaluate its implementation. This work will also help Atlanta expand job opportunities for minority- and women-owned contractors in the clean energy workforce. Additionally, it will strengthen neighborhood resilience by helping low-income, senior homeowners who have lived in their home for at least 15 years (known in the city as legacy homeowners) remain in place and preserve wealth.
By working with local stakeholders to advance an integrated Retrofit Navigator program, Atlanta is creating a coordinated, resident-centered approach that can serve as a model for other Southern cities working to build healthier, more resilient communities.
