Geographia Polonica (1985) vol. 51

Social aspects of urban problems: inequality in the American city. The case of Atlanta, Georgia, 1960-1980

David M. Smith

Geographia Polonica (1985) vol. 51, pp. 65-84 | Full text

Abstract

Tlis paper seeks to answer the question of whether race-space inequality in living standirds has decreased or increased over the two decades 1960-1980, for a single city, "he city chosen is Atlanta, Georgia. While typical of metropolitan America in many respects, Atlanta has some special features which give it a particular interest and sgnificance as a case study of trends in inequality by race and residential space.

Atlanta is popularly viewed as a prosperous symbol of the economic vitality and civic enlightenment of the so-called 'new South', it has a black middle class going back three or more generations, and since 1973 it has had a black mayor. Conditions in Atlanta might therefore be considered especially conducive to black advancement, and to the reduction of inequality insofar as this is a product of racial discrimination. The fact that the period under review covers the change from white to black power in a formal political sense adds further interest.

David M. Smith, Department of Geography, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, London, United Kingdom