It was a bad week for Atlanta...

 I couldn't help catching two major pieces of bad news about Atlanta this week.  I have mentioned in the past that I believe we are entering an age of design.  By that I have implied that in the not-so-distant future, we will have many real options about how to live and we will see them as real paths we can choose.  Education will focus more and more on critical thinking and means of synthetic thought rather than rote learning and interpretation and restatement of existing materials.

1) Atlanta is the most polluted city in the United States.Forbes magazine analyzed a variety of data to figure out which cities in the US were the most polluted.  Atlanta came out on top.  Here is the article.

2) Atlanta is one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.  A study released by a group called Transportation for America analyzed the relative risk of walking around various cities in the US.  They found that Atlanta is the 10th most dangerous.  Here is the full report.

What do these two studies tell me?  First, I want to know how reliable and objective these studies are.  The Forbes study has some flaws.  For example, they have used metrics on total released toxins, but they do not adjust these statistics to show how the materials are treated.  As a result, it is unclear how much of the toxins actually make it into the Atlanta environment.  On the other hand, as a proxy for total pollution, I do not believe there is good reason to believe that any on city is particularly better or worse and regulating this aspect.  So, the ones with more total release would likely have more total toxins.  The pedestrian study also has some issues in terms of how to conceive of walking relative to need (Atlanta has less need for walking because it is so spread out), but I think they have generally done a very good job.

Second, they tell me that I Atlanta is not a very good place to live.  The DESIGN of Atlanta had better improve.  People will wake up to the current situation here, and they will decrease their interest in living here and building businesses here.  Of particular note, they tell me that we should immediately pursue projects such as the belt-line project, yet Atlanta has been struggling not only to move this project but also to develop high-speed and commuter rail lines.  

Third, they tell me I need to step up my own involvement in these issues.  They matter to me.  I want to live in a good, healthy place.  Atlanta has not arrived.