Frumkin and his RSPH colleagues are at the forefront of this new frontier. RSPH faculty members P. Barry Ryan and Paige Tolbert are studying the effects of air pollution on a variety of health prob- lems, including asthma and heart disease. Often called the fastest-growing settlement in human history, Atlanta has nearly doubled its size in the past 10 years and now stretches 110 miles north to south. No natural boundaries hem it in. Land is cheap.
Taxes are low.
Thousands of new residents arrive each year, jumping the population from 3 million to 3.5 million between 1990 and 1996. Since the 1950s, in cities nationwide, the answer has been the suburbs. Sprawling suburban development has been fueled by white flight from the inner city, cheap gas, and the American yearning for independence, large houses, and land ownership. Federal housing loans for builders have strongly favored single family homes over apartments for the past 50 years. And local zoning laws continue to sharply divide shopping, residential, industrial, and business areas.