Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The Duncan index of dissimilarity (used in Massey and Denton [MAS 88], see
also Chapter 4) enables an assessment of the degree of racial segregation in
metropolitan areas observed at the census tract level. In 2000 the index for the
Atlanta MSA was such that 61.5% of African-Americans would have to change
neighborhoods within the metropolitan area in order to restore racially balanced
neighborhoods.
This is not an exceptional result for the United States, since the average
calculated for the 276 MSAs by census tract was 65.2%. Racial diversity
continues to improve within the Atlanta MSA however, as more affluent, middle-
and upper-class black households settle in previously segregated neighborhoods.
For comparison: the Duncan index of dissimilarity calculated for 1970 stood at
69.9%.
A smoothed map of urban sprawl can be interpreted as a graphic rendition of
territorial disparities and social tensions (see Figure 8.7). While south Atlanta
neighborhoods are the most threatened by concentrated poverty concentrations and
continue to lose population, overall population continues to grow in all directions
within a radius of 40 to 60 km around the Central Business District (CBD).
Urbanization is particularly active to the north and east, in the wealthier suburbs
where high-tech activities and services are clustered and where the proportion of
black population is lower.
Conversely, growth is limited in the southwest because of Hartfield
International Airport, one of the nation's most active transportation hubs. And yet,
southwest Atlanta is also one of the preferred directions of expansion for the black
middle class seeking access to suburban neighborhoods. Such urbanization is not
in any way structured by the existing urban framework which explains how small
towns like Griffin - poor, black, and located 68 km south of Atlanta - and
Marietta - a suburban military base and aerospace industry hub located 18 km
north and west of downtown Atlanta - continue to lose population.
Black-white polarization is more than ever a factor in this old Southern city,
and more than ever a powerful incentive for urban sprawl. It is in this context that
the city center has weakened in comparison to its suburbs (see Figure 8.8).
