Widening Disparities and Concentration of Poverty
The 1990 poverty rate for the Atlanta region was 7.7% vs. 24.6%
for the city of Atlanta. The city of Atlanta contains only 12% of the region's
population and 65% of the area's public housing. Over 88% of the Atlanta
region's poor blacks live in Fulton and DeKalb Counties, 62% in the city
of Atlanta, and 6% in Cobb and Gwinnett Counties.
Urban Flight and Racial Polarization
Federal mortgage subsidies facilitate middle-income home owners flight
out of the central city into outlying suburbs and
rural areas at the same time many Atlanta central city neighborhoods
are starving for investment capital. Sprawl development in the suburbs
creates disinvestment incentives, depresses property values, and stagnates
business opportunities in older inner city areas where African Americans
and other people of color are concentrated. Flight of whites and
middle-income families to the suburbs contributes to and exacerbates both
economic and racial polarization in the region. Racial barriers also
deprive a large segment of the central city population major investments
through home ownership and business development. Racially segregated
housing patterns have extended into Atlanta suburbs.
School Segregation
Clear racial patterns emerge in both Fulton and DeKalb County Schools
with African Americans concentrated in the southern portion of the two
counties with whites concentrated in the north.
Barriers to Fair Housing
Results from fair housing "testers" reveal that African Americans are
treated less favorably than whites 30% of
the time in Atlanta and 67% of the time in Atlanta's suburbs.
Environmental Quality
Atlanta's combined sewer overflows or CSOs pose health risks since
many contain heavy metals, organic compounds and petroleum products as
well as viruses and fecal coliform bacteria from humans and animals; 77.7%
of CSOs in Atlanta are located in mostly African American neighborhoods
where home values fall well below the median. While people of color
comprise 29.8% of the population in the five largest counties contiguous
to Atlanta (Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton), they represent
the majority of residents in five of the ten "dirtiest" zip codes in these
large counties.
Transportation
On average, people in the region drive 34 miles per day--more than
anyone else on the face of the planet; Atlantans lead the nation
in miles driven per day (over 100 million miles per day) Georgia's motor
fuel tax is the lowest in the nation (7.5 cents per gallon) and currently
can only be used for roads and bridges. The Metropolitan Atlanta
Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA serves just two counties, Fulton and DeKalb.
Only 4.7% of the region's workers commute by public transit. Over
34.9% of Atlanta's black females and 24.3% of black males use public transit
to get to work; for whites, 5.2% females and 4.2% males use public transit
to get to work.
Air Quality and Public Health
Generally, major transportation investments in highways support low-density
sprawl that generates increased vehicle emission and air pollution. Ground-level
ozone may exacerbate health problems such as asthma, nasal congestions,
throat irritation, respiratory tract inflamation, reduced resistance to
infection, changes in cell function, loss of lung elasticity, chest pains,
lung scarring, formation of lesions within the lungs, and premature aging
of lung tissues. Asthma is the number one reason for childhood hospitalization
in Atlanta. The most vulnerable population is low-income children; asthma
is 26 percent higher among African American children than among white children.
Pediatric emergency clinic visits in Atlanta increased by one-third during
peak ozone level. Four counties in the Atlanta metropolitan region
(DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, and Rockdale Counties) exceed national ozone
standards. A disproportionately large share of the childhood asthma
cases (90.1 percent) in the Atlanta nonattainment area occur in Fulton
and DeKalb counties two counties with the largest share of people of color.
Zoning and Land Use
Implementation of zoning ordinances and land-use plans have a political,
economic, and racial dimension. Generally, government officials have
done a miserable job protecting low-income, working- class, and people
of color communities from pollution assaults, industrial encroachment,
and environmental degradation. Race underlies and interpenetrates
with the other factors in explaining the socio-spatial layout of the Atlanta
metropolitan area, including housing patterns, street and highway configuration,
commercial development, and industrial facility siting. Poor whites
and poor blacks do not have the same opportunities to "vote with their
feet" and escape undesirable physical environments.
Policy Recommendations
Social and Economic Equity
Broad Coalitions and Alliances across Political Jurisdictions
Proactive Race Relations Strategy
Plans to Narrow Public Education Gap between City and Suburbs
Outreach to Atlanta's Urban Core Stakeholders
Housing and Community Development
Regional Fair Housing Initiatives
Energy Efficient Housing
In-Fill Development
Rigorous Enforcement of Existing Laws
Investment in Low-Income Communities and Communities of Color
Environmental Protection
Environmental Risk Reduction and Pollution Prevention Plan
Vegetation and Green Space
Land Use Reform and Brownfields Redevelopment
Title VI and Environmental Justice Enforcement
Transportation and Land Use
Gas Tax Reform
Regional Transportation Authority
Transit-Oriented Development
Streets for Walking, Bicycles, and Transit
Improve Access to Jobs
Uniform Local Public Involvement Process
Equity Analysis and Transportation Planning
Air Quality Standards Enforcement
Performance Measures and Public Information