Measuring disparities in Quality of Life (QOL) can be challenging due to the vast amount of factors to be included. This study attempts to measure disparities in QOL using a newly developed Urban Health Index (UHI). Using 128 census tracts in City of Atlanta in Georgia as an example, this study selects six variables that are related to QOL. Their geometric mean is then used to construct a single numeric value for each census tract. The QOL disparity ratio is then determined by the upper and lower 10% of the data. The slope of disparity is calculated using the remaining 80% of the data. The results show that urban health index may be an affective indicator of QOL in a city.

Since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Atlanta has had a reputation in the African-American community as a place of endless opportunity. This reputation, along with "boosterism" has attracted large numbers of African-American migrants into the Atlanta area. While economic factors no doubt play a role in the decision to migrant to Atlanta for most African-Americans, there are other social factors that "push" and "pull" African-Americans to Atlanta. This thesis looks at the "push" and "pull" factors of African-American migration into Atlanta, and within the Atlanta region. Most of the data in this thesis came from information obtained from two survey questionnaires administered to African-Americans in Metropolitan Atlanta in late 2004. The results of the thesis suggest that economics factors play a larger role in inter-metropolitan migration than intra-metropolitan migration.

The transportation crisis in Atlanta has attained epic proportions. Inconveniences and hardships created by too many automobiles and not enough alternatives for movement, have reached untenable levels. Getting at what lies beneath the asphalt, interrogating what drives the paving of America, along with the seemingly unstoppable space, energy, and money consumption that the current mode of mobility entails will perhaps allow for future decision-making that includes a more nuanced reading of the landscape. In an effort to understand these forces, I interrogate the creation, trajectories, and current positioning of three major Atlanta transportation projects: the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), the bus and rail system that has been the backbone of metropolitan Atlanta’s public transportation system for the past 30 years; the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), which is the super-agency created in 1999 in an effort to address the air quality issues in the region; and the Beltline, an enormously popular current proposal to build a 22-mile loop of greenspace, transit, and other amenities around an inner loop of the city built on existing rail beds. This investigation engages a wide literature on race, space, and place; attendance at various meetings and relevant symposia; archival data; and in-depth interviews with 20 area transportation experts and interested parties. As race and regionalism are so central to understanding power and procedure in metro Atlanta, particular attention is given to racial and spatial practices. This research reveals the contest over issue framing between car-centered growth promoters, environmental (or green) actors, and social justice, or equity proponents and how the outcomes of this triumvirate’s competition results in regional transportation policies and procedures. The examination of the three instances; MARTA, GRTA, and the Beltline, give us an excellent window into the making of mobility in the region. INDEX WORDS: Transportation, Atlanta, Race and Regionalism, Mobility, GRTA, Beltline, MARTA.

Neglected areas are everywhere. They are seen as foreclosed homes, commercial properties, rundown lots and even small spaces like broken signage and over-sized potholes. My investigation, Abandonment ex-plores how graphic design can be used to identify neglected areas and add meaning that challenges exist-ing perceptions of these areas. This becomes a way to suggest revitalization without actually redesigning a specific space. Abandonment matches carefully designed phrases, inspired by first hand research of community members, with neglected urban environments of Atlanta. The camouflaged environmental graphics, created by means of DOT signs, chalk drawings, and blackboards recontextualize environments to softly build curiosity, activate new thinking, and potentially spark reinvention. Perhaps if citizens ques-tion these neglected spaces, they may begin to imagine new purposes for these spaces and reclaim them? The investigation is thoroughly documented and will continue to mature over time. To follow the project online, visit urbanartatlanta.com.

When confronted with decisions involving the provision of environmental resources, such as clean air, do individuals act cooperatively with societal regulations? This study employs a quasi-experimental design to investigate the cooperative and non-cooperative actions of high-emitting vehicle owners that arose in response to the Inspection and Maintenance (IM) program in the Atlanta airshed. The impact of cooperative and non-cooperative actions of high-emitters on vehicular tail-pipe emissions, such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), is quantified. Furthermore, the hypothesis that high-emitters have significantly higher odds of residing in lower income neighborhoods as compared to the normal emitters is also tested. A remote sensing sample of approximately 1.42 million vehicles observed on-road between 1997 and 2001 is matched with IM program data and vehicle registration data to identify the cooperative and non-cooperative high-emitters. A mixed-pool time-series regression analysis is undertaken to estimate changes in vehicular tail-pipe emissions due to the actions of high-emitters. The information about the socio-economic and demographic contextual conditions of the sampled vehicle owners is ascertained from 2000 census data. Approximately 42% of the high-emitting vehicle owners are found to be cooperative and 58% non-cooperative. The cooperative actions caused a decrease of 47% in HC emission factors during 1997 and 2001. There is no statistical difference between the CO and NO emission factors of vehicles owned by cooperative and non-cooperative high-emitters. Results also suggest that the high-emitters live in 4.4% lower median household income areas as compared to the normal emitters in the Atlanta airshed. Changes in the current IM program rules and vehicle registration laws could improve air quality. Such changes include disallowing IM test failures from registering anywhere in the state of Georgia and requiring an IM test on every change of vehicle ownership inside the IM program area. Better incentive mechanisms for high-emitters can also be designed. The evidence from this study is expected to aid policy-makers to adapt the incentive mechanisms of IM programs, in particular, and environmental regulations, in general, so that public policies are both more effective and equitable in their societal impacts.

This thesis argues for diversity as an important element for urban neighborhoods. This argument is framed by three questions. First, what are the recent findings from urban design, planning and architecture research and practice about achieving neighborhood diversity? Second, what are the physical ingredients of traditional, diverse urban neighborhoods that enable diverse populations, lifestyles and incomes? Third, what design strategies can be formulated, based on the evidence above, to design and implement diverse neighborhoods? Three neighborhoods in Atlanta are the focus of the detailed analysis of diversity. These are: Inman Park, Ansley Park and Virginia-Highland. These three neighborhoods were chosen because of their similarities. They all appear to be single family detached neighborhoods but are actually diverse in terms of housing type and owner/renter occupancy; they are perceived to have unique identities in architectural styles, but actually have a diversity of styles and ages of buildings. They all are perceived to be fully gentrified but in fact, house diverse populations in terms of age, income, race and lifestyle. The conclusions of this thesis include written recommendations, based on current neighborhood design ideas as supported by the analysis of Atlanta neighborhoods.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. Directed by Larry F. Hodges. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-115).

Green roofs can be an effective mitigation strategy to offset the environmental impact that urbanization has on the environment. The roof area for the city of Atlanta and for the Georgia State University campus was used to compare the effectiveness of green roofs at removing pollutants, abating stormwater runoff, and reducing the urban heat island at different scales. Results show that the warmest part of the city is the urban core, which is also the area of the city with the highest percentage of impermeable surfaces. Green roofs can reduce land surface temperature in the urban core up to 2.62°C, remove up to 73 kg of atmospheric pollutants annually, and reduce stormwater runoff by up to 32.3% annually at the GSU scale. Results were less significant at the Atlanta scale due to the large amount of vegetated surfaces that already exist.

INTRODUCTION: Oral health is a worldwide concern that affects people of every age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. Having good oral health is vital to overall health and well-being. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are preventable, but disparities exist in access to preventive care. Proper oral hygiene includes brushing with fluoride toothpaste, flossing, and regular dental visits. Adults without dental insurance may have financial obstacles to proper oral hygiene. Due to lack of dental care, adults without dental insurance may seek acute dental treatment in inappropriate settings, such as an emergency department. AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine if insurance status is associated with being dental and trauma patients presenting to Grady Memorial Hospital’s emergency department for care. METHODS: Data were obtained from Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, GA for the years 2010-2013. Emergency department data for trauma and dental patients aged 20-64 years (n = 27,247) were extracted using ICD-9 codes and the age variable. Chi-square analyses were used to assess differences in insurance status between dental and trauma patients. Odds ratios from bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine associations between being a dental or trauma patient and selected independent variables. The model of best fit was determined using the stepwise logistic regression technique. RESULTS: Insurance status was significantly different between trauma and dental patients (p < .001). Approximately 78% of dental patients were uninsured, while about 57% of trauma patients were uninsured. Controlling for cofounders, being uninsured was statistically significant. Being uninsured was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of being a dental patient (OR: 2.58, 95% CI: [2.17,3.07], p < .001). DISCUSSION: The results from this study demonstrate that insurance status is a main reason why dental patients seek care in an emergency department. Dental patients are significantly more likely to be uninsured than trauma patients. This issue of lack of insurance coverage for dental patients must be addressed in order to decrease the current disparities in care. Further research is needed to determine if there are additional driving factors which contribute to the decision to visit an emergency department for dental care. Due to the disparities that exist in access to dental care, and the repercussions that occur from a lack of dental insurance, dental insurance coverage is a public health concern that needs to be given more attention.

ABSTRACT DANA L. GREEAR The STEPS to Atlanta Streets Alive Activity Guide (Under the direction of Professor JOHN A. STEWARD, M.P.H.) Atlanta Streets Alive (ASA) is a continually developing ciclovía recreativa based program occurring in urban Atlanta. Creating multi-sectoral partnerships and providing complementary activities to participants are key to ciclovía program sustainability. The objective of this capstone project was to create the STEPS to Atlanta Streets Alive Activity Guide (STEPS guide) by using a process method of evaluation framework for planning, conducting, and evaluating activities performed within ASA events. A pilot activity was conducted during the Atlanta Streets Alive event on October 17, 2010. The STEPS guide was assembled by using information collected during the pilot activity, with secondary analysis of the STEPS guide, including expert and focus group critique, to ensure accuracy and feasibility of use. The STEPS guide is a structured method of collecting static information about the individual activities conducted within ASA events. This information can be used by future activity partners to develop dynamic complementary activities within ASA events.