Sharp rise in suburban poverty (Atlanta, Columbus: foreclosure, home, unemployment)

[K-SawDude]

Just caught this piece today, which seems to give more data relevant to a number of different discussions of recent changes in Atlanta:

America

Here are some of the relevant portions concerning Atlanta:

But contrary to stereotypes that the worst of poverty is centered in urban areas or isolated rural areas and Appalachia, the suburbs have been hit hardest in recent years, an analysis of census data reveals. . . . In the wake of the Great Recession, poverty rolls are rising at a more rapid pace in the suburbs than in cities or rural communities. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of suburban households below the poverty line increased by 53 percent, compared to a 23 percent increase in poor households in urban areas, according to a Brookings Institution analysis of census data.

To be sure, the picture of poverty in American suburbs is an uneven one. According to the census analysis, some suburban regions took bigger economic hits than others. Poverty rolls increased 121.8 percent in the Atlanta suburbs between 2000 and 2010, compared to a 6.8 percent increase in the city. Chicago and Seattle saw similarly large suburban-urban splits in poverty. The poverty rate increased by 76.3 percent in the Chicago suburbs compared to only 9.7 percent in the city during that period. In Seattle, the number of people living below the poverty line rose 74.4 percent in the suburbs versus 26.1 percent in the city proper over the decade.

The 10-year surge in suburban poverty is putting enormous budgetary pressure on county and local governments and non-profits, which are struggling to meet a rising demand for social services, counseling and financial assistance. The number of students qualifying for subsidized lunches in Conyers, an Atlanta suburb, grew by 63 percent this year, compared with a 46 percent increase in 2006. Many suburban areas of Columbus, Ohio, have also seen their subsidized lunch enrollment more than double over the past five years, the Columbus Dispatch reported earlier this year. . . .

In Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta, a ballooning foreclosure crisis is forcing once middle and upper-income residents into poverty. One in 183 housing units received a foreclosure filing in November, compared to a national average of one in 579 units, according to RealtyTrac.

Moving forward, I have a feeling these demographic and economic changes are going to start to frustrate many of the assumptions of the (overly trumped up) ITP vs. OTP debates. Politically, it seems like the suburbs will have to deal more directly with poverty issues on their home turf. And maybe some of these issues will become more of a regional concern rather than either a strictly urban or suburban concern.

[cqholt]

For the most part people living ITP spend less money on transportation and have more disposable income.