Atlanta Metropolitan Area Research Articles

Initial Smoking Experiences and Current Smoking Behaviors and Perceptions among Current Smokers.

Purpose. We examine early-onset cigarette smoking and how, if at all, it is related to subsequent smoking practices. Methods. From 2004 to 2007, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 485 adult cigarette smokers residing in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Data analysis involved a multivariate analysis to determine whether age of smoking onset was related to current smoking practices when the effects of gender, age, race, marital/relationship status, income, and educational attainment were taken into account. Results. The mean age for smoking onset was 14.8, and more than one-half of all smokers had their first cigarette between the ages of 12 and 16. Most people reported an interval of less than one month between their first and second time using tobacco. Earlier onset cigarette smoking was related to more cigarette use and worse tobacco-related health outcomes in adulthood. Conclusions. Early prevention and intervention are needed to avoid early-onset smoking behaviors. Intervening after initial experimentation but before patterned smoking practices are established will be challenging, as the interval between initial and subsequent use tends to be short.

Innovation, multi-utility service businesses and sustainable cities: where might be the next breakthrough?

A Multi-sectoral Systems Analysis (MSA) model has been constructed for exploring and managing cross-sectoral impacts (both synergies and antagonisms) resulting from technology and policy interventions in the design and stewardship of city infrastructures. This MSA is based on Substance Flow Analysis. It accounts for the flows of water, nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and energy into, around, and out of the water, energy, food, waste-handling, and forestry sectors of city-watershed systems. Applications of the MSA to two case studies of the Metropolitan Atlanta Area in Georgia, USA, and the Greater London Area, UK, are compared. The impacts and financial benefits are assessed for four candidate technological innovations in the water sector: urine-separating toilets; pyrolysis of sewage sludge; combined food-waste and wastewater conveyance/treatment; and production of algae-based biofuels from sewage. System-wide environmental sustainability is gauged on four accounts, of attaining progressively more ambitious targets of resource savings/recovery in respect of water, energy, and nutrients (both nitrogen- and phosphorus-based). The paper closes by demonstrating how the MSA can provide assistance in framing questions of a more financial and social nature, i.e., those of ‘Who reaps the rewards?’ and ‘Who bears the costs?’ of the various prospective technological changes and (possibly) breakthroughs.

Residence Proximity to Benzene Release Sites Is Associated with Increased Incidence of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

AbstractAbstract 2710 Background:Increased risk of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) has been observed in persons occupationally exposed to benzene, but the risk among persons living near benzene release sites has been less studied. Methods:In order to investigate the spatial patterns of NHL incidence and the association between NHL incidence and distance to benzene release sites, we linked cancer incidence data for the period 1999–2008 from the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry (a CDC-supported a statewide population-based cancer registry collecting all cancer cases diagnosed among Georgia residents since 1995) with population data from the U.S. Census, and with Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory data on the locations of benzene release sites in Georgia between 1988–1998. NHL cases were aggregated by census tract. Descriptive spatial analysis was performed using ArcGIS. Choropleth maps were created to depict the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) by census tract for NHL and NHL subtypes, and locations of benzene release sites were overlayed upon SIR maps. Spatial Empirical Bayes smoothing was performed on the SIR values using GeoDa 1.01. To assess spatial correlation in SIRs, we conducted global, local, and focal spatial analyses. The global Moran’s I and a local Moran’s I (also termed Local Indicators of Spatial Autocorrelation [LISA]) were calculated for SIR patterns of NHL and NHL subtypes. The Lawson-Waller Score test was used to individually assess each of the 19 benzene release sites for focal clustering of NHL with Bonferroni correction for the 19 comparisons. We performed Poisson regression on NHL incidence rates, using the mean distance between the tracts centroids and release sites as a marker of exposure. Results:12,716 incident NHL cases occurred among adults residing in Georgia during this period. There was a positive spatial autocorrelation for cases of NHL, B-cell NHL, T-cell NHL and for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma indicating that cases NHL in Georgia were geographically clustered (all global Moran’s p-values < 0.05). LISA cluster maps of SEB-smoothed SIRs (Figure) show the locations of “hot-spots” (high-high clusters) and “cold-spots” (low-low clusters). High SIRs were clustered in the metro-Atlanta area for NHL and NHL subtypes, while low SIRs were mostly in the southern region of the state. The Lawson-Waller test scored each census tract for the difference between the observed and expected NHL incidence, weighted by inverse distance to the sites. Results were statistically significant at the á= 0.0026 level (Bonferroni correction) for 15 of the 19 benzene release sites. All sites located within the metro-Atlanta area had significant focal clustering, with greater incidence rates observed in the tracts near these sites than expected. Mean distance from benzene release site had a protective effect with a 0.4% decrease in the incidence rate of NHL for every mile the mean distance increased. Conclusions:Clusters of NHL were significantly spatially associated with benzene release sites located in the metropolitan Atlanta area, but not with release sites in other areas of the state. Populations living in a census tract ≥100 miles away from all benzene release sites in Georgia have approximately a 40% decrease in the expected incidence of NHL when compared to populations living in a census tract adjacent to a benzene release site. While the overall incidence of NHL in Georgia is low (17.4/100,000 individuals in the population/year), this represents a significant change in incidence pattern. Additional studies are needed to identify factors that modify this risk. [Display omitted] Disclosures:Flowers:Genentech/Roche (unpaid): Consultancy; Millennium (unpaid): Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Spectrum: Research Funding; Millennium: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding.

Should measuring haemoglobin among chronic kidney disease patients be a performance measure?

We attempted to: (1) to assess whether or not adequate evidence exists to advocate the measurement of anaemia in chronic kidney disease as a performance measure; and (2) to determine what the appropriate benchmarks might be for health systems seeking to implement this performance measure. Our study was conducted in two phases: (1) we used the United States Preventive Service Task Force chain of evidence methodology to determine six key questions that were subsequently reviewed to determine if adequate evidence existed to recommend haemoglobin testing among patients with chronic kidney disease; and (2) in order to establish a benchmark for a potential performance measure we measured the number of patients who had a test for anaemia during the preceding year and during the preceding three years. We established these benchmarks using chronic kidney disease defined both by estimated glomerular filtration rate and ICD-9 codes. Benchmarking was undertaken at Kaiser Permanente Northwest, which serves the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington metropolitan area, and Kaiser Permanente Georgia, which serves the Atlanta metropolitan area. Patients with chronic kidney disease identified by either estimated glomerular filtration rate or ICD-9 code. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASUREMENT: Serum haemoglobin This was an observational study. Our review of the evidence found no direct evidence that testing for anaemia among patients with chronic kidney disease improved patient morbidity or mortality. The ideal test for anaemia was serum haemoglobin. We found that available treatments of anaemia improve fatigue, but may increase mortality and stoke. We also found that an overwhelming majority of patients with chronic kidney disease defined by either estimated glomerular filtration rate or ICD-9 codes, over one or three years had had a haemoglobin measurement. There is currently inadequate evidence to recommend haemoglobin measurement among patients with chronic kidney disease as a performance measure. In addition, most patients with chronic kidney disease have already had haemoglobin measurement, minimizing the potential benefit of a performance measure.

Utility of Capture-Recapture Methodology to Assess Completeness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Case Ascertainment

Background: With the establishment of a national amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) registry in the United States, methods are needed to ascertain the completeness of case ascertainment, especially in view of the proposal to rely largely on existing data sources. Methods: Data about ALS patients residing in the 5-county metropolitan Atlanta area (within the State of Georgia) from 2001 to 2005 were categorized according to their source – ALS Association, clinical (Emory Healthcare, community neurologist, Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration), Medicare and death certificates. ALS diagnoses were verified using chart review. Capture-recapture analyses were carried out using log-linear modeling, stratified by age and race. Results: The final model (based on 798 cases), which included the 4 main sources and 3 two-way interaction terms, yielded an estimated total population of 880 (95% CI 816–965), indicating that the combination of case-finding methods identified about 90.7% of cases. The estimated 5-year period prevalence is 38.5/100,000 (95% CI 35.66–42.19). Conclusion: This study highlights gaps in data based on existing data sources and illustrates a method for combining data from multiple sources to help facilitate the successful establishment of a US national ALS registry.

Ambient pollen concentrations and emergency department visits for asthma and wheeze

Previous studies report associations between aeroallergen exposure and asthma exacerbations. Aeroallergen burdens and asthma prevalence are increasing worldwide and are projected to increase further with climate change, highlighting the importance of understanding population-level relationships between ambient pollen concentrations and asthma. We sought to examine short-term associations between ambient concentrations of various pollen taxa and emergency department (ED) visits for asthma and wheeze in the Atlanta metropolitan area between 1993 and 2004. We assessed associations between the 3-day moving average (lag 0-1-2) of Betulaceae (except Alnus species), Cupressaceae, Quercus species, Pinaceae (except Tsuga species), Poaceae, and Ambrosia species pollen concentrations and daily asthma and wheeze ED visit counts, controlling for covarying pollen taxa and ambient pollutant concentrations. We observed a 2% to 3% increase in asthma- and wheeze-related ED visits per SD increase in Quercus species and Poaceae pollen and a 10% to 15% increased risk on days with the highest concentrations (comparing the top 5% of days with the lowest 50% of days). An SD increase in Cupressaceae concentrations was associated with a 1% decrease in ED visits. The association for Quercus species pollen was strongest for children aged 5 to 17 years. Effects of Ambrosia species pollen on asthma exacerbations were difficult to assess in this large-scale temporal analysis because of possible confounding by the steep increase in circulating rhinoviruses every September. Poaceae and Quercus species pollen contribute to asthma morbidity in Atlanta. Altered Quercus species and Poaceae pollen production caused by climate change could affect allergen-induced asthma morbidity in the southeastern United States.

Characterization of atmospheric aerosol in the US Southeast from ground- and space-based measurements over the past decade

Abstract. This study examines how aerosols measured from the ground and space over the US Southeast change temporally over a regional scale during the past decade. PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter &gt;2.5 micrometers) data consist of two datasets that represent the measurements that are used for regulatory purposes by the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and continuous measurements used for quickly disseminating air quality information. AOD (aerosol optical depth) data come from three NASA sensors: the MODIS sensors onboard Terra and Aqua satellites and the MISR sensor onboard the Terra satellite. We analyze all available data over the state of Georgia from 2000–2009 of both types of aerosol data. The analysis reveals that during the summer the large metropolitan area of Atlanta has average PM2.5 concentrations that are 50% more than the remainder of the state. Strong seasonality is detected in both the AOD and PM2.5 datasets, as evidenced by a threefold increase of AOD from mean winter values to mean summer values, and the increase in PM2.5 concentrations is almost twofold over the same period. Additionally, there is agreement between MODIS and MISR onboard the Terra satellite during the spring and summer, having correlation coefficients of 0.64 and 0.71, respectively. Monthly anomalies were used to determine the presence of a trend in all considered aerosol datasets. We found negative linear trends for both the monthly AOD anomalies from MODIS onboard Terra and the PM2.5 datasets, which are statistically significant. Decreasing trends were also found for MISR onboard Terra and MODIS onboard Aqua, but those trends were not statistically significant. The observed decrease in AOD and PM2.5 concentrations may be indicative of the brightening over the study region during the past decade.

Educational Needs for Improving Self-Care in Heart Failure Patients With Diabetes

To explore the need for self-monitoring and self-care education in heart failure patients with diabetes (HF- DM patients) by describing cognitive and affective factors to provide guidance in developing effective self-management education. A cross-sectional correlation design was employed using baseline patient data from a study testing a 12-week patient and family dyad intervention to improve dietary and medication-taking self-management behaviors in HF patients. Data from 116 participants recruited from metropolitan Atlanta area were used. Demographic and comorbidities, physical function, psychological distress, relationship with health care provider, self-efficacy (medication taking and low sodium diet), and behavioral outcomes (medications, dietary habits) were assessed. Descriptive statistics and a series of chi-square tests, t tests, or Mann-Whitney tests were performed to compare HF patients with and without DM. HF-DM patients were older and heavier, had more comorbidities, and took more daily medications than HF patients. High self-efficacy on medication and low-sodium diet was reported in both groups with no significant difference. Although HF-DM patients took more daily medications than HF, both groups exhibited high HF medication-taking behaviors. The HF-DM patients consumed significantly lower total sugar than HF patients but clinically higher levels of sodium. Diabetes educators need to be aware of potential conflicts of treatment regimens to manage 2 chronic diseases. Special and integrated diabetes self-management education programs that incorporate principles of HF self-management should be developed to improve self-management behavior in HF-DM patients.

Minority donation in the United States

Background and Objective In the United States, approximately 15 million whole blood products are collected each year from 10 million volunteer donors. African Americans are underrepresented in the donor pool. In 2008, 7% of white versus 4% of African American and Hispanics adults donated in the previous year. The donor rates vary by region in the United States: 77–93% for whites, 1–16% for African Americans and 1–13% for Hispanics. In the Atlanta metropolitan area whose donor pool is 77% white, 16% African American and 4% Hispanic, the blood donor rate (number of blood donors per population) was 11/1000 population for whites, 6/1000 for African Americans and 3/1000 population for Hispanics; and the blood donation rate (number of units donated by population over the total population) was 77 donations/1000 population for whites, 22/1000 population for African Americans and 10/1000 population for Hispanics. Thus, African Americans and Hispanics represent half of the donors as whites when adjusted for their percentage of the population and more strikingly donate a significantly fewer number of units per each donor.Materials and Methods Literature on reasons for racial/ethnic differences in donation rates and methods to address these differences was reviewed.Results The reasons for these differences are multifactorial. First, although 41% of the total US population is estimated to be eligible to donate, African Americans and Hispanics have lower eligibility rates (whites 46%, African Americans 36%, and Hispanics 41%). Second, donor deferral rates are higher for minorities: whites 11%, African Americans 18%, Hispanics 14% and Asians 16%. Deferral is most commonly secondary to temporary deferral reasons such as low hemoglobin level, yet donors are less likely to return once deferred, and thus deferral affects donor and donation rates. Third, minorities may have different motivators and barriers. The most cited motivators to blood donation are more convenient place and times, and being asked; and the most cited barriers are fear of catching a disease and feeling faint/dizzy, and not have time or knowing where to donate. Racial differences in motivating factors identified include African Americans are more likely than whites to donate to receive an item/gift and be tested for infectious disease, and if assured that donating is safe. Notably, these motivators are not the primary cited motivators. African Americans compared with whites more commonly cite fear, difficulty finding veins and not knowing where to donate as deterrents. In addition, African Americans have distrust in the healthcare system, which is correlated with lower donation rates. Fourth, different racial/ethnic groups may have different preferred marketing strategies, including methods of contact, as well as culturally specific motivators for behavioural change.Conclusion Thus, with an improved understanding of these differences as well as accurate tools to measure the outcomes, culturally targeted recruitment programs can be developed to increase donation rates.

Characterization of ambient air pollution measurement error in a time-series health study using a geostatistical simulation approach

In recent years, geostatistical modeling has been used to inform air pollution health studies. In this study, distributions of daily ambient concentrations were modeled over space and time for 12 air pollutants. Simulated pollutant fields were produced for a 6-year time period over the 20-county metropolitan Atlanta area using the Stanford Geostatistical Modeling Software (SGeMS). These simulations incorporate the temporal and spatial autocorrelation structure of ambient pollutants, as well as season and day-of-week temporal and spatial trends; these fields were considered to be the true ambient pollutant fields for the purposes of the simulations that followed. Simulated monitor data at the locations of actual monitors were then generated that contain error representative of instrument imprecision. From the simulated monitor data, four exposure metrics were calculated: central monitor and unweighted, population-weighted, and area-weighted averages. For each metric, the amount and type of error relative to the simulated pollutant fields are characterized and the impact of error on an epidemiologic time-series analysis is predicted. The amount of error, as indicated by a lack of spatial autocorrelation, is greater for primary pollutants than for secondary pollutants and is only moderately reduced by averaging across monitors; more error will result in less statistical power in the epidemiologic analysis. The type of error, as indicated by the correlations of error with the monitor data and with the true ambient concentration, varies with exposure metric, with error in the central monitor metric more of the classical type (i.e., independent of the monitor data) and error in the spatial average metrics more of the Berkson type (i.e., independent of the true ambient concentration). Error type will affect the bias in the health risk estimate, with bias toward the null and away from the null predicted depending on the exposure metric; population-weighting yielded the least bias.

Disaster and Emergency Planning Outreach Workshops: National Library of Medicine Consumer Health Databases and Disaster Preparedness

After witnessing and being affected by catastrophic climatic events in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the staff of the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) Library, in keeping with the mission of the school's goal to serve the underserved, developed a disaster and emergency planning outreach workshop targeted at utilizing selected databases of the National Library of Medicine. The staff took the opportunity not only to reach out to the larger Atlanta community but also to conduct several workshops on campus for MSM personnel and several visiting student groups to the MSM Library. Workshop participants included members of four local congregations (Cascade United Methodist Church, The Lutheran Church of the Atonement, Mount Calvary Baptist Church, and True Light Baptist Church), Master of Public Health students, faculty, and staff at Morehouse School of Medicine, and visitors to the Morehouse School of Medicine Library. Workshop sites were the first three churches and the MSM Library. Interactive sessions were held which included viewing the FEMA video Getting Ready for Disaster, introductions to National Library of Medicine databases (Haz-Map®, Household Products®, Toxtown®, Toxmap®, and MedlinePlus®) and development of personal disaster plans.

Intrametropolitan Opportunity Structure and the Self-Employment of Asian and Latino Immigrants

Using 2000 Census microdata for the Atlanta metropolitan area as a case study, this research investigates the effect of intrametropolitan opportunity structure and local area context, especially spatial structure, urban employment pattern, social environment, and ethnic concentration, on Asian and Latino immigrants’ incidence of self-employment. These two groups grew rapidly both in the total labor force and among the self-employed in Atlanta. It is found that living in central city and inner-ring suburbs depresses Latino immigrants’ entrepreneurial activities. The growth of trade jobs and concentration of immigrants in a local area both give rise to immigrant entrepreneurship. Results suggest that traditional theories such as disadvantage theory need to be reassessed in the context of new immigrant gateways, while the ethnic enclave hypothesis is still validated. Potential policies to promote immigrant entrepreneurship are also discussed.

Effects of improved spatial and temporal modeling of on-road vehicle emissions

Numerous emission and air quality modeling studies have suggested the need to accurately characterize the spatial and temporal variations in on-road vehicle emissions. The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact that using detailed traffic activity data has on emission estimates used to model air quality impacts. The on-road vehicle emissions are estimated by multiplying the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by the fleet-average emission factors determined by road link and hour of day. Changes in the fraction of VMT from heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs) can have a significant impact on estimated fleet-average emissions because the emission factors for HDDV nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) are much higher than those for light-duty gas vehicles (LDGVs). Through detailed road link-level on-road vehicle emission modeling, this work investigated two scenarios for better characterizing mobile source emissions: (1) improved spatial and temporal variation of vehicle type fractions, and (2) use of Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES2010) instead of MOBILE6 exhaust emission factors. Emissions were estimated for the Detroit and Atlanta metropolitan areas for summer and winter episodes. The VMT mix scenario demonstrated the importance of better characterizing HDDV activity by time of day, day of week, and road type. More HDDV activity occurs on restricted access road types on weekdays and at nonpeak times, compared to light-duty vehicles, resulting in 5–15% higher NOx and PM emission rates during the weekdays and 15–40% lower rates on weekend days. Use of MOVES2010 exhaust emission factors resulted in increases of more than 50% in NOx and PM for both HDDVs and LDGVs, relative to MOBILE6. Because LDGV PM emissions have been shown to increase with lower temperatures, the most dramatic increase from MOBILE6 to MOVES2010 emission rates occurred for PM2.5 from LDGVs that increased 500% during colder wintertime conditions found in Detroit, the northernmost city modeled. Implications: Air quality model performance relies partly on on-road mobile source emission inventories accurately allocated, both spatially and temporally. This work demonstrates the importance of characterizing the mix of heavy-duty diesel versus light-duty gasoline vehicle activity on an hourly basis on weekdays and weekends by road type. Incorporating detailed activity data increases weekday average NOx and PM emissions 5–15%, with early morning hour emission increases approaching 100%, compared to using one average vehicle activity mix. Application of the methodologies described in this paper will improve the accuracy of on-road emission inventories in the understanding of ozone photochemistry and PM formation.

Mutilating Khalid: The Symbolic Politics of Female Genital Cutting (review)

Reviewed by: Mutilating Khalid: The Symbolic Politics of Female Genital Cutting Daniel Mains (bio) Mutilating Khalid: The Symbolic Politics of Female Genital Cutting, by Charles Steffen Trenton, New Jersey: Red Sea Press, 2011; pp. 228. $29.95 paper. Charles Steffen’s Mutilating Khalid: The Symbolic Politics of Female Genital Cutting offers a fascinating examination of the symbolic dimensions of the case of Khalid Adem, an immigrant to the United States from Ethiopia who was convicted in 2006 on charges of aggravated assault and cruelty to children for allegedly circumcising his two-year-old daughter. Steffen relies primarily on court records, newspaper articles, and interviews with key participants in the Adem case to support his analysis. Mutilating Khalid is divided into 11 chapters with titles like “The Symbol,” “The Place,” “The Script,” and “The Prosecution.” These chapters are highly effective in telling a story that begins with the setting, slowly introduces characters, and builds toward a courtroom battle. Structuring the book in a way that resembles a screenplay allows Steffen to hold the reader’s interest, and portions of Mutilating Khalid could honestly be described as “page turners.” Although Steffen makes the outcome of the Adem case clear at the outset, the reader is absorbed by the story and seeks to understand the series of events that led to this outcome. Steffen writes in a clear and engaging manner and uses almost no academic jargon, making Mutilating Khalid accessible to a popular audience. Khalid Adem moved from Ethiopia to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1993, and Steffen, a professor of history at Georgia State University in Atlanta, does well to give extensive attention to the politics, culture, and economics of the greater metropolitan Atlanta area. In many ways, Mutilating Khalid is as much about urban history and the New South as it is about female genital cutting, and the Adem case tells us more about values and cultural practices in the United States than those in Ethiopia. Steffen describes the relationships between political power struggles and shifting demographics in different Atlanta suburbs. Details are provided concerning major players in the Adem case like journalists, lawyers, and politicians, and each of these characters is situated in the complex and changing Atlanta political context. Steffen’s central argument is that in the Adem case, female genital cutting was a symbol around which a variety of different struggles were waged. Steffen claims that at different times and for different people, female genital cutting represents patriarchal power, cultural backwardness, a violation of [End Page 325] universal human rights, and a threat to U.S. cultural values. To the extent that Khalid Adem came to represent female genital cutting, the outcome of his case had little to do with serving justice and determining Adem’s guilt. Instead, Adem’s conviction was one result of a broader symbolic battle related to culture, nationality, identity, and gender, and Steffen raises a number of doubts about Adem’s actual guilt. Steffen situates this conflict within the context of white flight to the suburbs, a recent influx of immigrants, battles between Republicans and Democrats, and struggles for gender equality. He argues that for conservative whites in suburban Atlanta, the Adem case represented an opportunity to lash out at a growing immigrant population. For white liberal feminists, the Adem case offered an opportunity for a political victory against domestic violence. Steffen’s analysis of how these seemingly opposed groups came together to pass legislation criminalizing female genital cutting is one of his many important insights. Steffen’s discussion in the chapter titled “The Refugees” is particularly effective in demonstrating the problems with many of the meanings associated with female genital cutting. It is in this chapter that the reader learns about the complex, often contradictory, attitudes of African women concerning female genital cutting. Steffen tells the stories of African immigrant activists who simultaneously oppose female genital cutting and argue that Western public discourse concerning genital cutting stigmatizes African women in a way that often undermines their physical well-being, by preventing circumcised women from seeking health care treatment in the United States. As strong as Steffen’s deconstruction of the symbolic qualities of female genital cutting is, there are points in Mutilating Khalid...

Public-Private Partnerships in Atlanta and Houston Metropolitan Areas of the United States

Public-Private Partnerships in Atlanta and Houston Metropolitan Areas of the United States

환경적 형평성과 도시 삶의 질의 공간적 관계에 대한 탐색

OLS 회귀분석은 환경적 형평성과 도시 삶의 질의 공간적 관계를 밝히기 위하여 사용되어 질수 있지만, 이러한 전역적 방법은 그 공간적 관계에 있어서 국지적 변이를 설명할 수 없다. 이들 지리적 변이를 밝혀 내기 위해서는 반드시 국지적 방법을 사용해야 한다. 이러한 맥락에서, 본 논문은 국지적 방법인 지리적 가중회귀분석(GWR)을 이용하여 애틀란타 대도시권에서 환경적 형평성과 도시 삶의 질간의 공간적 변이관계를 탐색하고자 한다. 환경적 형평성과 도시 삶의 질은 GIS와 원격탐사의 통합적 방법에 의하여 측정되었다. 연구결과에 따르면, 애틀란타 대도시권에서 환경적 형평성과 도시 삶의 질의 공간적 관계는 일반적으로 유의적인 부의 관계가 있었다. 또한, 환경적 형평성과 도시 삶의 질의 관계는 공간상에서 상당히 변이하고, 전역적 OLS 모델 보다 GWR 모델이 이러한 공간적 변이관계를 더 잘 설명할 수 있는 것으로 나타났다. Although ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis can be used to examine the spatial relationships between environmental equity and urban quality of life, this global method may mask the local variations in the relationships between them. These geographical variations can not be captured without using local methods. In this context, this paper explores the spatially varying relationships between environmental equity and urban quality of life across the Atlanta metropolitan area by geographically weighted regression (GWR), a local method. Environmental equity and urban quality of life were quantified with an integrated approach of GIS and remote sensing. Results show that generally, there is a negatively significant relationship between them over the Atlanta metropolitan area. The results also suggest that the relationships between environmental equity and urban quality of life vary significantly over space and the GWR (local) model is a significant improvement on the OLS (global) model for the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Metagenomic Insights into the Evolution, Function, and Complexity of the Planktonic Microbial Community of Lake Lanier, a Temperate Freshwater Ecosystem

Lake Lanier is an important freshwater lake for the southeast United States, as it represents the main source of drinking water for the Atlanta metropolitan area and is popular for recreational activities. Temperate freshwater lakes such as Lake Lanier are underrepresented among the growing number of environmental metagenomic data sets, and little is known about how functional gene content in freshwater communities relates to that of other ecosystems. To better characterize the gene content and variability of this freshwater planktonic microbial community, we sequenced several samples obtained around a strong summer storm event and during the fall water mixing using a random whole-genome shotgun (WGS) approach. Comparative metagenomics revealed that the gene content was relatively stable over time and more related to that of another freshwater lake and the surface ocean than to soil. However, the phylogenetic diversity of Lake Lanier communities was distinct from that of soil and marine communities. We identified several important genomic adaptations that account for these findings, such as the use of potassium (as opposed to sodium) osmoregulators by freshwater organisms and differences in the community average genome size. We show that the lake community is predominantly composed of sequence-discrete populations and describe a simple method to assess community complexity based on population richness and evenness and to determine the sequencing effort required to cover diversity in a sample. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity and metabolic potential of a temperate planktonic freshwater community and advances approaches for comparative metagenomics.

Associations between multiscale landscape characteristics and breeding bird abundance and diversity across urban-rural gradients in Northeastern Georgia, USA

Urbanization is rapidly changing the southeastern US landscape, particularly in Georgia within and around the Atlanta metropolitan area, the fastest-growing Southeastern population center. Landscape characteristics related to human disturbance, landscape composition, and landscape configuration vary across the urban-rural gradient and are easily and inexpensively evaluated using geographic information systems (GIS). Previous studies have suggested that avian communities and populations respond in scale-dependent ways to urbanization-related landscape changes through changes in abundance and diversity. We conducted a 2-year study (2007–2008) of the response of breeding bird population abundance, community abundance, species richness, and relative diversity in young and mature single-family residential areas to 15 landscape characteristics measured at multiple spatial scales across urban-rural development intensity gradients near Athens, Georgia. We grouped birds by species, entire site assemblage, and by functional guild affiliation. Our models suggest strong relationships between the landscape and both community and population abundance of birds, as well as a somewhat weaker relationship with species richness. We detected only a weak relationship between breeding season relative diversity and landscape characteristics; we hypothesize a possible seasonal component to that relationship based on an earlier study. Our results suggest that widely available geospatial metrics of human disturbance and landscape pattern can be used to model breeding bird abundance and diversity across urban-rural gradients. This study sets the framework for a landscape scale understanding of the effects of housing developments and development intensity on breeding birds in northeastern Georgia and such a landscape-based approach to modeling species numbers represents a valuable tool in natural resources management.

Breakthrough Communities: Sustainability and Justice in the Next American Metropolis

The emerging metropolitan regional-equity movement promotes innovative policies to ensure that all communities in a metropolitan region share resources and opportunities equally. Too often, low-income communities and communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of pollution and lack access to basic infrastructure and job opportunities. The metropolitan regional-equity movement -- sometimes referred to as a new civil rights movement -- works for solutions to these problems that take into account entire metropolitan regions: the inner-city core, the suburbs, and exurban areas. This book describes current efforts to create sustainable communities with attention to the triple bottom line -- economy, environment, and equity -- and argues that these three interests are mutually reinforcing. After placing the movement in its historical, racial, and class context, Breakthrough Communities offers case studies in which activists' accounts alternate with policy analyses. These describe efforts in Detroit, New York City, San Francisco, Atlanta, Camden, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other metropolitan areas to address such problems as vacant property, brownfields, affordable housing, accessible transportation, community food security, and the aftermath of Katrina and September 11. The volume concludes by considering future directions for the movement, including global linkages devoted to such issues as climate change. ContributorsCarl Anthony, Angela Glover Blackwell, Robert D. Bullard, Sheryll Cashin, Kizzy Charles-Guzman, Don Chen, Celine d'Cruz, Amy B, Dean, Hattie Dorsey, Cynthia M. Duncan, Juliet Ellis, Danny Feingold, Deeohn Ferris, Kenneth Galdston, Greg Galluzzo, Howard Gillette Jr., David Goldberg, Robert Gottlieb, Bart Harvey, William A. Johnson Jr., Chris Jones, Van Jones, Anupama Joshi, Bruce Katz, Victoria Kovari, Mike Kruglik, Steve Lerner, Greg Leroy, Amy Liu, Stephen McCullough, Mary Nelson, Jeremy Nowak, Myron Orfield, Manuel Pastor, M. Paloma Pavel, john a. powell, Cheryl Rivera, Faith R. Rivers, Nicolas Ronderos, Rachel Rosner, David Rusk, Priscilla Salant, David Satterthwaite, Ellen Schneider, Peggy M. Shepard, L. Benjamin Starrett, Jennie Stephens, Elizabeth Tan, Petra Todorovich, Andrea Torrice, Mark Vallianatos, Robert Yaro

Satisfaction with Local Conditions and the Intention to Move

The recent economic downturn has presented many challenges to local communities and policy-makers. Foreclosed properties, job losses, and other challenges that local residents face can threaten the economic viability of local communities. Another consequence of the economic downturn is decreased government budgets, forcing policymakers to make decisions about how to allocate scarce resources effectively. When making decisions about local and regional policy, it would be useful to know how local characteristics contribute to the decisions residents make about whether to remain in a local community or to relocate. Exhibits 1 through 4 present maps created to investigate the relationship between residents’ perceptions of local conditions and the intentions of residents to move. The maps are of the ZIP Codes in the five core counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett), combined with data from a public opinion survey conduced by the A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service at Kennesaw State University.