A Spatial Analysis of African American and White Population Concentration in the Metro Atlanta Area

Abstract

This paper studies the growth in concentration of African American population in the Atlanta, Georgia area since the decades of seventies. Certain areas in the ten-county metro regions have experienced greater concentration of black population than the others. Using GIS, a shift in the concentration between the white and black population in the metro Atlanta area was identified. Are there any factors that uniquely influence the African-American population in choosing a location? Identifying some socio-economic variables that could have influenced the concentration reveals interesting trends in this spatial shift. Findings could be relevant for city planning and local development policies.