The connections between these trends in population, income inequality, racial segregation, schools, jobs, housing and transportation become evident when we examine their cumulative consequences. These result not simply from Atlanta's accelerated growth rate but also from the way Atlanta has grown- with an unbalanced and unequal distribution of people and jobs.
Unbalanced growth has three kinds of consequences.
The Atlanta region is like many other large U.S. metropolitan areas in that it is difficult for most residents to get around without a car. About 90 percent of the Atlanta region's commuters drive to work. By 1996, the rate of vehicle ownership was nearly one car per person in most parts of the region. In exurban counties, the ratio of cars to people was 1.23 to 1. More than 2.8 million vehicles were registered in the region in 1997, up more than 32 percent from 1990.