“As affluent young professionals and older empty nesters flock back into cities across the country in search of better lifestyles,” writes Rebecca Burns, “the suburbs left behind are increasingly stuck with a demographic—the working poor and struggling middle class—they were never built to accommodate.” The problem is especially bad in Atlanta, where reverse migration is exacerbated by a notoriously poor transportation system—built that way on purpose—that is gradually turning a sprawling metropolitan area into a patchwork of disconnected enclaves, seized by gridlock and scrambling to absorb their new residents. In short, says one local civic leader in Cobb County, an affluent area that exemplifies the trend, “People went to suburbia for the American dream and it became a nightmare.” Here’s what it’s like trying to get from Cobb County to Atlanta and back, on the bus. It’s a nightmare. Captions by Elizabeth F. Ralph

Mark Peterson/Redux