Joseph “Joe” Victor McCannon (1940- ) was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Walter Parker McCannon (1900-1974) and Minnie Agnes Moore McCannon (1905-1995). He graduated from Hapeville High School in 1958, received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate from Georgia State College (later Georgia State University) in 1964, and studied urban geography at the University of Illinois before serving as an engineer in the United States Air Force in 1968. He then continued his education by receiving a Bachelor of Science in Urban Affairs from Georgia State University in 1970 and studying urban planning at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1970 and 1971.

From 1966 to 1981, McCannon worked as an urban planner for the City of Atlanta Bureau of Planning. During this time he coordinated major transportation plans including the Central Area Study parking inventory; drafted new zoning regulations and districts for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA); and reviewed planned developments in neighborhoods around the city, mainly Buckhead. McCannon then worked as an environmental review coordinator for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division where he oversaw developments including Underground Atlanta and MARTA's North Line. In 1987, McCannon became an environmental planner for MARTA where he was responsible for cultural resources surveys of existing and proposed transit lines including the North Line extension from Buckhead to North Springs.

McCannon married Mary Ann Burke in 1971, divorced in 1981, and married Montie Catherine “Trina” Martin in 1989. In retirement, he became an avid runner and world traveler. McCannon is also a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.