Western Governors University free essay sample

The City of Atlanta is located in the heart of Georgia. It has a rich in history and is the â€Å"cultural center for the Atlanta Metropolitan Area)† (Wikipedia, 2013). The City of Atlanta has the highest population in the state of Georgia Community Description and Interpretation of Data. The City of Atlanta is located within two counties, Fulton and Dekalb. The Metropolitan Atlanta Area is comprised of over 28 counties including; Cobb County to the northwest, Gwinnett County to the northeast, Dekalb County to the west, Douglas County in the east and Henry, Clayton and Fayette Counties to the South. Atlanta, located at in the piedmont area of the Appalachia Mountains, is 134 square miles in area (Atlanta Regional Commission, 2013). The climate in Atlanta is humid sub-tropical, with mild winters and hot and very humid summers (Wikipedia, 2013). Temperatures in 2012 ranged from an average monthly high in July of 94 degrees to average monthly low in January of 39 degrees. We will write a custom essay sample on Western Governors University or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The average annual rainfall in Atlanta is 49. 7 inches (National Weather Service Forecast Office, 2012). The air quality in Atlanta â€Å"does not meet the federal standards for ozone and fine particulate matter† (Atlanta Regional Commission, 2013). The City of Atlanta drinking water has won national awards. In its 2009 Water Quality Report (City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, 2009) was reported to have met all parameters for microbial, inorganic and organic contaminants. The City of Atlanta’s population in 2010 was 420,003 people and ranks 43rd in size amongst U. S incorporated cities (Atlanta Regional Commission, 2013). There are approximately 49. 8% males and 50. 2% females the city. Atlanta’s population is comprised 54% of black or African-American race, 36% white, 5% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 2% some other race (Atlanta Regional Commission, 2013). There are approximately 3,134 people per square mile in Atlanta with a median age of 33 years old, close to the median age for the state of Georgia at 35 years old (United States Census Bureau, 2013). For males and females over the age of 15, 53% are not married and 47% are married. The estimated mean household income in 2010 was $80,685 which was approximately 19% higher than the state of Georgia (United States Census Bureau, 2013). 76. 9% of people over the age of 25 in Atlanta have completed High School. 34. 6% have a Bachelor’s degree or higher and13. 8% have graduate degrees or higher. The mean commute time to work is 28. 3 minutes. There are a high number of universities in this area including Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and many others. In August 2012, the unemployment was 11. 5% and was higher the state’s rate of 9. 1% (city-data. com, 2012). While difficult to estimate due to the transient nature, there are over approximately 13,000 homeless people in Atlanta (Atlanta Children’s Shelter, 2011). According to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (2013), Atlanta has the fourth most Fortune 500 headquarters. With Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the busiest airport in the U. S. , located to the south of the city, it’s not unusual that the top employer in the city is Delta Airlines with 27,000 employees. Other large employers in Atlanta include Wal-Mart Stores Inc. with 26,000 employees, Emory University and Healthcare System with 23,872 employees, the DeKalb County Government and School System with 20,405 and ATamp;T with 18,000 employees (Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, 2013). â€Å"Atlanta is the poorest city in the U. S. for children living below poverty level (Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, 2007). † The U. S. Census (2013) estimates that in 2010, 20. 5% of households in Atlanta live below $15,000 annually. Approximately 14. % of households obtained food stamps in the past 12 months (United States Census Bureau, 2013). Fifty-nine percent of Atlantans are â€Å"affiliated with a religious congregation. † This is above the national average of 50%. Of the 59%, 17% are Southern Baptists, 16% are Methodists, 15% are Catholics, 14% are Jewish, 7% are independent, 6% are Presbyterian, and others religious affiliations are 26% (city-data. com, 2013). The crim e rate index in Atlanta was highest in the last 12 years during 1999. The crime rate index in 1999 was approximately 73. 3% higher than the national average. Since then the crime rate index has a decreasing trend with a slight spike during 2007 and 2008, and another spike during 2011. The lowest crime rate index occurred in 2010. The crime rate index in 2011 was 23% higher than the previous year. The 2011 crime rate index in Atlanta was 55% greater than the National average. Of the 36,362 crimes that occurred in 2011, 0. 2% were murders, 0. 4% were rapes, 6. 4% were robberies, 9. 7% were assaults, 20. 6% were burglaries, 47. 5% were thefts, 14. 8% were auto thefts, and 0. 3% were arsons (city-data. com, 2013). Unemployment in Atlanta seemed to mostly decrease throughout the 90’s to a low of 3% in 1999. During the 2000-2010 unemployment increased to 10. 1%. 2012 unemployment was 8. 8 which is higher than the National rate of 8. 0. â€Å"Atlanta is a regional as well as national leader in the field of healthcare, the Atlanta metropolitan area is home to more than 50 hospitals supporting 40,000 medical personnel and more than 10,000 beds. Twelve Hospitals are located in the city proper (city-data. com, 2013). † Atlanta is also home the Centers of Disease Control and the Southeastern US Public Health Department. Overall, Atlanta is a relatively non-healthy community. Due to its location there is a large potential for natural disaster especially flooding. There is access to a great range of emergency response but implementation of response plans are not widely communicated. Education for the residents is lacking and should be provided. The crime rate is very high relative to other cities of its size. With a large amount of commuters and proximity to interstate highways and railroads, Atlanta has a potential for toxic exposures and spills. Community outreach programs are not reaching the homeless and those affected, planning should be implemented to target this group. A greater amount of transportation and environmental planning is needed to address air quality violations. Overall, Atlanta is a relatively non-healthy community. Due to its location there is a large potential for natural disaster especially flooding. There is access to a great range of emergency response but implementation of response plans are not widely communicated. Education for the residents is lacking and should be provided. The crime rate is very high relative to other cities of its size. With a large amount of commuters and proximity to interstate highways and railroads, Atlanta has a potential for toxic exposures and spills. Community outreach programs are not reaching the homeless and those affected, planning should be implemented to target this group. A greater amount of transportation and environmental planning is needed to address air quality violations.