Richard N. Engstrom, Kennesaw State University
Nathan Dunkel, Kennesaw State University

Graphic Detail
Geographic Information Systems organize and clarify the patterns of human activities on Earth’s surface and their interaction with each other. GIS data, in the form of maps, can quickly and powerfully convey relationships to policymakers and the public. This department of Cityscape includes maps that convey important housing or community development policy issues or solutions. If you have made such a map and are willing to share it in a future issue of Cityscape, please contact david.e.chase@hud.gov.

The recent economic downturn has presented many challenges to local communities and policy- makers. Foreclosed properties, job losses, and other challenges that local residents face can threaten the economic viability of local communities. Another consequence of the economic downturn is decreased government budgets, forcing policymakers to make decisions about how to allocate scarce resources effectively. When making decisions about local and regional policy, it would be useful to know how local characteristics contribute to the decisions residents make about whether to remain in a local community or to relocate. Exhibits 1 through 4 present maps created to investigate the relationship between residents’ perceptions of local conditions and the intentions of residents to move. The maps are of the ZIP Codes in the five core counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett), combined with data from a public opinion survey conduced by the A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service at Kennesaw State University.