Atlanta’s urban sprawl leads to low social mobility
America has gone from being the land of opportunity to become the city on a hill too steep for anyone else to climb. Lower social mobility adversely effects economic growth and human capital development, and it is a detriment to the American dream that our country holds so dear. Only 4% of children in Atlanta born to the bottom quintile make it to the top quintile. This is compared to the 10% national average. This means that we have potentially millions of dollar bills lying on the sidewalk from the wasted potential of children who can earn higher incomes and contribute more to society but are stuck in a vicious circle of poverty due to their family’s income and their zip code. This is not only inefficient for society, but it is unfair, immoral, and unjust, especially in the country where we claim the “dream” is open to all. To some, it just seems a nightmare. Much of the problem for Atlanta arises from its horrendous sprawl and lackluster transit system, the result of mass sub-urbanization that began in 1980s. This leads to a lack of job accessibility and increased income segregation- two contributors to diminishing social mobility (research shows that metropolitan compactness indices and commuting times have a strong direct relationship with job accessibility, income segregation, and upward mobility ).
There are various stakeholders that all hold interest in this problem. There is a large group of stakeholders that hold high influence as well as high interest. This includes Tom Taylor-the representative of the house MARTA oversight committee, Kevin Tanner-the Chairman of the house transportation committee, Rusty Paul-Mayor of Sandy Springs and transportation and infrastructure reform advocate, Mayor Kasim Reed and his office, the CEO of MARTA (who just resigned so the position is currently looking to be filled), the MARTA board, Tim Keane- The Commissioner of the Department of City Planning, Heather Alhadeff- the Manager of the Atlanta Transportation Plan, Brandon Beach- Chairman of Senate Transport Committee, Lester Jackson-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Urban Affairs, as well as the entire Georgia General Assembly, Congress, and the federal Department of Housing and Development. Much of this group possesses government decision making power relating to this issue and would be substantial allies in combating the problem. The primary targets of this issue, although they may have little political influence, are large in number. There are about 45,000 households within Atlanta (11% of households) and almost 700,000 households statewide (almost 20% of households) in the bottom quintile. The children of these households are directly affected by this issue, as social mobility is popularly defined as the percentage of children from the bottom quintile who reach the top quintile in adulthood. The families of the households, not including the children, are also indirectly affected. As the child grows and their incomes grows with it, they are more able to financially support their family.
This issue is feasible to tackle for 3 primary reasons.
First, the issue of social mobility has received much study and research. The biggest source of past research and extensive databases is the Equality of Opportunity, headed by Raj Chetty of Stanford. Although their research doesn’t delve too deep about urban sprawl and social mobility (they only mention the negative relationship between commuting times and social mobility), they have obtained a large dataset that could be utilized.
Second, the issue has gathered much public and bipartisan attention. Whereas inequality is still a touchier subject, social mobility is put forth as a problem that can unite. Many liberal and conservative economists, and politicians more importantly, have spoken about falling mobility and the need to preserve the American Dream.
Third, many of the causes of the overall problem that I have identified have been previously noted, whether by government agencies or elected officials themselves i.e. Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul is a large proponent of new transportation infrastructure.
Atlanta is a growing city with a lot of potential to attract businesses to the hub of the south. But work must also be done to ensure that the potential of less well-off children is not wasted. The City in a Forest must also be the City on a Hill once again.
References
Leonhardt, D. (2013, July 21). In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters. Retrieved September 07, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/business/in-climbing-income-ladder-location-matters.html?pagewanted=all
Bradley, B. (n.d.). Mass Transit Investment Also Matters for Economic Mobility. Retrieved September 07, 2017, from https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/mass-transit-per-capita-spending-economic-mobility-atlanta-detroit-san-jose
Ewing, R., Hamidi, S., Grace, J. B., & Wei, Y. D. (2016). Does urban sprawl hold down upward mobility? Landscape and Urban Planning,148, 80–88. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.11.012
Kneebone, E., & Holmes, N. (2016, August 24). The growing distance between people and jobs in metropolitan America. Retrieved September 07, 2017, from https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-growing-distance-between-people-and-jobs-in-metropolitan-america/