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Overview

You need credible local sources for a story. Atlas turns location-based source discovery from days of manual Google searches into a structured, repeatable process backed by public evidence.

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The scenario

You’re a reporter covering housing issues in Kansas City. You need to find:
  • Who’s organizing tenants
  • Which nonprofits are working on housing affordability
  • What advocacy campaigns are active
  • People with firsthand experience you can interview
Normally, this means hours of searching local news archives, scrolling through nonprofit directories, checking social media, and hoping you don’t miss someone important. Atlas compresses that into minutes.

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Three ways to research

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1. Browse the directory

Go to atlas.rebuildingus.org/browse and search:
  1. Enter “Kansas City” as your location
  2. Filter by issue area: Housing and the Built Environment
  3. Browse the results — each entry shows the person or organization, what they do, and where the information came from
Click any entry to see its full source list. Every source includes the publication, article title, and date — so you can verify independently and cite the original reporting.

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2. Ask an AI assistant

If you have Claude Desktop, Copilot, or another MCP client connected to Atlas (setup guide), you can research conversationally:
You: Who’s working on housing issues in Kansas City? Claude: I found 23 entities working on housing in Kansas City. The most prominent include KC Tenants (tenant organizing collective), Habitat for Humanity Kansas City, and the Metropolitan Housing Coalition… You: Tell me more about KC Tenants. What are the sources? Claude: KC Tenants is a tenant organizing collective focused on housing justice. Sources include: Kansas City Star (March 2026), KCUR (January 2026)… You: Are there any coverage gaps? Claude: Kansas City has strong coverage on tenant organizing and housing affordability. Limited coverage on: community land trusts, manufactured housing, and housing for formerly incarcerated people.

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3. Use the API

For systematic research across multiple cities:

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What makes Atlas different for journalists

Source attribution. Every entry traces back to public sources — news articles, nonprofit listings, organizational websites. You’re not trusting a database; you’re seeing where the information came from and can verify it yourself. Gap reporting. Atlas tells you what’s missing, not just what it found. “Zero leads for harm reduction in this city” is a signal worth following up on. Freshness signals. Source dates tell you how current the information is. An entity backed by a 2026 article is more actionable than one last mentioned in 2023.

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Discount for working journalists

Independent creators and journalists get 50% off Atlas Pro after verification. Apply at atlas.rebuildingus.org/request-discount.

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What’s next

Browse Atlas

Start searching the directory now.

Connect an MCP client

Use Atlas through a compliant remote MCP client.

API quickstart

Automate research across multiple cities.

Plans & pricing

See what’s free and what requires a plan.