Solutions for the South

8/14/2019 Solutions for the South

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Solutions for the Southnovember 2009


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Solutions for the South

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During he 2008 Roosevel summi in Hyde Park, New York, heSouhern chaper leaders I me were a passionae and brilliangroup. Though we had o go our separae ways aer he coner-ence, we waned o coninue working ogeher in order o creaesomehing greaer han any one o our chapers could creae onis own.

So I, Alex Wang, and Sydney Daigle rom USC; Aaron Sayamaand Bobby Rosenbleeh rom UGA; and Libby Longino rom UNCdecided o harness he suden energy across our campuses opublish a journal o policies argeing he mos urgen problemsaecing our region. Soluions or he Souh was born.

Working wih so many innovaive sudens in developing his jour-

nal has been a privilege. Auhors have writen persuasively andediors have rened submissions wih special care. The projechas sparked aciviy across our chapers and has provided ourregion wih a sage rom which i can projec is poenial.

The policies you are abou o read mee he challenges conron-ing he American Souh wih soluions deeply inormed by an un-dersanding o local realiies. These ideas need o be heard. AndI hope he bonds we buil beween Souhern chapers in dra-ing his journal will coninue aciliaing producive collaboraionsino he uure.

Sincerely,

Jee GuramEdior in Chie

Letter from the Editor


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The Roosevel Insiue Campus Nework, a naional suden iniiaive, en-gages young people in a unique orm o progressive acivism ha empowershem as leaders and promoes heir ideas or change. Through communica-ion and coordinaion wih poliical acors and communiy members, sudensideniy pressing issues acing heir owns, counies and saes. Taking advan-age o he unique resources on heir college campuses, hey engage in policy

research and wriing and hen connec he ruis o ha work o he poliicalprocess, delivering sound, progressive proposals o policymakers and advoca-cy groups. We call our unique model o policy acivism Think Impac. Addingpolicy papers o picke signs, Think Impac engages young people in acivismueled by innovaive, suden ideas.

Founded in he wake o he 2004 elecion, he Campus Nework was ormedin order o srenghen he progressive movemen by meaningully engaging

young people in poliics. Young people can do ar more han paricipae incampaigns; here, sudens are asked o ake acion on heir ideas and cre-ae an impac in heir communiies. I encourages hem o campaign or heprogressive policies ha hey have writen. I gives hem an opporuniy oreshape heir communiies. I allows hem o experience, rs-hand, he powero progressive hough in creaing posiive change. And he Nework empow-ers sudens o see hemselves as progressive leaders in heir own righ.

Today, he Campus Nework boass more han 7,000 members organized aapproximaely 80 chapers across he counry. Chapers oser debae anddialogue on campus, each policy courses, engage wih local policymakers,generae policy, and promoe suden ideas hrough conerences and publica-ions. Since is ounding, Roosevel members have presened suden policieson Capiol Hill, esied o ciy council, implemened legislaion, and workeddirecly in heir communiies.

The Roosevel Campus Nework is a division o he Franklin and Eleanor

Roosevel Insiue, an organizaion dedicaed o preserving and promoinghe legacy o heir namesakes or uure generaions.


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Creating Local NewswiresSephan Allen e alUniversiy o Norh Carolina a Chapel Hill

Food Security in Durham, NCLaurel Averet e alBusiness Aairs & Consumer Proecion

Funding Richland County BusesRyan Shelon-BensonPublic Building Commission

Subsidizing Alternative BiofuelsPeer SchaengDeparmen o Transporaion

Health I.T. for Southern CHCs

Jeremy FordUniversiy o Norh Carolina a Chapel Hill

LEED Certification in SchoolsMichael Levy and Tyler OConnorChicago Climae Acion Plan

Inclusionary Zoning in Athens, GAEllyn Echols

Universiy o Georgia

Raising Taxes on Georgia CigarettesLucas PueneUniversiy o Georgia

Legislative Briefs

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Curbing Dropouts with P.A.R.K.Kaherine Bogle e al

Deparmen o Aviaion

Mandatory Impact FeesRocky T. Cole

Business Aairs & Consumer Proecion

Child Care FoundationsLauren Coleman

Universiy o Georgia

Building a Faculative BioreactorMalin Darnell and Shanell Davis

Universiy o Georgia

Durham Enrichment Project

Je GruberOce o Communiy

Building Effective College AccessNikki Rumley e al

Chicago Climae Acion Plan

Simplifying Eligibility for KidsTracy Yang

Chicago Public Schools

White Papers

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Creating Local NewswiresSephan Allen, Ehan Bowers, Jeannie Burnete, Amanda Conklin,

William McKeen, Kaherine Litleeld, and Andrew ReynoldsUniversiy o Norh Carolina a Chapel Hill

There is a lack o media coverage o local governmen. By runninga newswire service suppored by a public universiy, sudens caninorm ciizens on criical local issues in Norh Carolina.

The Inerne and oher elecronic resources are increasingly used o access henews. In his book, The Vanishing Newspaper, pioneer journalis and Universiyo Norh Carolina-Chapel Hill proessor Philip Meyer calculaes ha prin news

will die in America by 2043. In response, papers are downsizing and cutingsa who provide valuable coverage, diminishing he abiliy o sources o coverimporan local issues. According o he Newspaper Associaion o America,he number o people employed in he indusry ell by 18% beween 1990 and2004.1 Small, local newspapers are in an especially dicul siuaion, lackinghe resources and unding o compee wih larger companies in a shrinkingmarke. As news organizaions lose resources o cover couny and municipalgovernmens, local ciizens run he risk o being uninormed abou local issues

ha aec hem prooundly. A suden-run wire service a Norh Carolina sys-em universiies would provide a way o ge acs and rshand accouns aboulocal issues o he public.

Background

The Norh Carolina Policy Inormaion Nework (NCPIN), an online news server,would provide a cenral daabase or inormaion on local news.2 I would oera crucial resource or ciizens who are oherwise ill inormed abou local ma-

ers because o he decrease in communiy coverage, hus enabling he ciizenso play a greaer, more knowledgeable role in heir communiies.

By building parnerships wih Norh Carolinas higher educaion sysem andnon-pro organizaions, sudens can deliver imely, accurae, and biparisaninormaion abou local governmen hroughou he sae.3 Sudens recruiedor he program would have a background in Journalism, English, or Commu-nicaions and would bene by receiving rshand experience in he eld, as

well as neworking opporuniies and academic credi. Paricipaion in NCPINwould ake place during a semeser-long course in which sudens would reporon he proceedings o local, couny, and municipal governmens. Aer gaher-ing inormaion, paricipans would hen upload heir coverage o an onlineserver, which could be accessed direcly by ciizens or clien news organiza-ions.

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Several universiies have similar newswire programs. For example, VirginiaCommonwealh Universiy runs a newswire in he spring semeser ha reporson he proceedings o he saes General Assembly.4 Sudens mee wo imesa week or sory planning and skills developmen. They hen are expeced ospend a leas en hours ouside o class each week reporing or one or more

clien newspapers; hey receive hree credi hours or heir work. This year,he school added a companion course or sudens ineresed in ediing henewswire.

Capial News is anoher example o he ype o program we aim o creae.5A suden-led version o he Associaed Press a he Universiy o Maryland,i provides coverage o DC and Annapolis governmen proceedings hroughsae and communiy newspapers, radio, and elevision.

Analysis

News organizaions and he general public would have access o he NCPIN.6I would also be o use o Universiy o Norh Carolina sysem schools, oherprivae colleges, cenral inormaion-echnology organizaions, and public, ed-ucaional elevision. I is in he bes ineres o hese organizaions o becomeinvolved wih he service i hey are o maximize communiy oureach.7 A pro-posed budge or he program calculaes he cos o a proessional o oversee

he operaion o he newswire o be rom $22,000 o $28,000. Addiionally,sar-up coss, which include he promoion o NCPIN o news media and localgovernmens across he sae, are around $50,000.8 Universiy suppor is alsoneeded o esablish a pilo program a a UNC sysem school. The home or-ganizaion should have a signican and sable inormaion-echnology organi-zaion, and based on every day observaions o classroom and exracurricularexcellence, he sudens a UNC-Chapel Hill are well prepared o carry ou hemission o he newswire. The long-erm benes o direc communiy involve-

men or UNC sysem sudens, aculy, and oher organizaions involved wouldar ouweigh he sar-up coss.

Works CitedWho Killed he Newspaper?1. The Economis 24 Aug. 2006. 31 Mar. 2009 .Each sory would include a emplae wih relevan documens and a suden-wri-2.en aricle. Corrado, Gail. Carolina Wire Service Documen.Fih Poin Consuling Group. NCPIN.3.

Abou CNS. VCU College o Humaniies & Sciences. 17 Mar. 2009 .Capial News Service. CNS | Philip Merrill College o Journalism. Universiy o5.Maryland. 16 Mar. 2009 .Fih Poin Consuling Group. NCPIN.6.A parnership has already been esablished wih he Norh Carolina Cener or7.


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Voer Educaion in Raleigh, and he Policy Deparmen a UNC has conduced asurvey o discover wha kind o news local newspapers need.Sar-up coss would include websie creaion, daabase acquisiion, media liabiliy8.insurance.

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Food Security in Durham, NCLaurel Averet, Rainbo Hulman, Jeslyn Keziah,

Sara Mishamandani, and Lauren PeersonSchool, Cener?

Impac sudies execued prior o new consrucion in Durham, NC,should include provisions ha address he ood securiy o he a-eced communiy as dened by Unied Saes Deparmen o Agri-culure (USDA) guidelines.

Key Points

Adequ ae access o nuriious, culurally appropriae, and aordable

ood is criical or he healh o every communiy member.Food insecuriy is he lack o access o nuriional ood and eecs11.1% o households in he US.1Grocery sores caalyze local economic growh hrough job creaion,axes, and muliplier eecs.When auhorizing consrucion, he local governmen should con-sider is impac on ood securiy.Food securiy should be assessed wih he USDA Food Securiy As-

sessmen Toolki readily available on he USDA websie.2This policy would be he rs legislaion in he souh designed o pre-ven new consrucion rom causing ood insecuriy.

Background

Food securiy enails access o sucien ood o live a healhy lie a a cos hadoes no pu a amily in economic risk.3 Food insecuriy - he inabiliy o reachand aord resh, nuriious ood - is on he rise in many urban areas across he

Souh.4 The consequences o ood insecuriy are dire, as ood-poor areas havebeen linked o higher raes o obesiy and die-relaed illnesses,5,6,7 lower cog-niive developmen in children,8 and higher raes o crime and violence.9 Gro-cery sores are more relucan o open in urban areas due o he percepiono crime, economic hardship, and lack o ransporaion or locals.10 Thereore,closing an urban grocery sore eliminaes a valuable economic asse ha isno likely o reurn. Wih socio-economic pressure on grocers o leave, and ewbenes or reurning, grocery sores are precious o urban areas and should

be proeced.

In Durham, NC, he Durham Town Council recenly decided o widen AlsonAve in order o alleviae rac in he area. The consrucion will resul in hedesrucion o Los Primos, he primary grocery sore in he area.11 This siuaion,which will leave many already sruggling amilies wihou adequae ood op-

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ions, is one example o ood insecuriy impaced by consrucion and refecshe need or uure proecion o his areas ood supply.

The Durham ciy commissioner mus consider including a ood securiy provi-sion in uure impac sudies or consrucion and developmen projecs. Con-

sideraions o ood securiy would well ino previously esablished environ-menal impac sudies. Daa on ood securiy should be gahered annually andincluded in models developed or ransporaion assessmen.

Analysis

The urgency o diminishing ood securiy in he counry has led o several iniia-ives seeking o increase access o ood hrough various oules such as com-muniy gardens, armers markes, and nuriion programs in schools. However,

mos US governmen programs addressing he needs o households wih lowood securiy ocus on he abiliy o pay or groceries raher han how o accesshealhy ood. No policies currenly exis in he souh ha proecs he oodsecuriy o a communiy rom consrucion hreas.

The curren sae o ood securiy in Durham should be deermined using guide-lines oulined by he USDA Communiy Food Securiy Assessmen Toolki.2Many o he aspecs o his assessmen, such as ransporaion paterns and

communiy demographics, are readily available o he couny commissioner.Oher aspecs, such as collecion o communiy surveys, require minimal imeand raining rom a small number o individuals. Generally speaking, whenconsrucion causes he eliminaion o a ood supply in an area, ood securiyrisk should be measured wih and wihou he presence o he provider usinghe guidelines se ou by he USDA. The impac on ood securiy in Durhammus be weighed agains he improvemens in rac congesion o he pro-posed consrucion.

Including a ood securiy assessmen in a proposed consrucion impac sudywill require boh ime and money. Individuals mus be hired o assess he oodsecuriy in an area as oulined by he USDA assessmen. This poenial chal-lenge should be remedied wih unding rom he local governmen insiuioninvolved in approving consrucion projecs. Raising awareness o he impor-ance o ood securiy is an essenial ool o encourage unding. In addiiono healh and cogniive benes, ood securiy can also simulae he economywihin a communiy hrough improved work poenial in aduls, ewer hes,and a decrease in overall healh care coss.


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Funding Richland Co. BusesRyan Shelon-Benson

School, Cener

The Richland Couny Council should place a reerendum on he No-vember 2, 2010 general elecion ballo o increase he couny salesax by 0.25% in order o permanenly und he Cenral Midlands Re-gional Transi Auhoriys bus sysem.

Key Points

T he Cenral Midlands Regional Transi Auhoriy (CMRTA) publicbus sysem is commited o providing sae, dependable and acces-

sible public ransi in Columbia, S.C., and surrounding areas.The CMRTA only has emporary unding hrough he year 2010.In November 2004, residens o he nearby ciy o Charleson, S.C.,voed or a sales ax increase aer he Charleson Area RegionalTransi Auhoriys service was cu by 75%.Up o 85% o he CMRTA sysem could be shu down i permanenunding is no esablished.The CMRTA operaes on an annual budge o $11 million.

Public ransporaion benes he communiy by reducing rac con-gesion, aciliaing economic developmen, reducing greenhousegas emissions and lessening dependence on oil.

Background

Souh Carolina Elecric & Gas paren company SCANA, a public uiliy, pro-vided bus service o he midlands o Souh Carolina under an 85 year-old courorder as par o heir license agreemen o operae in he Midlands.

In 2002, he Ciy o Columbia agreed o relieve SCANA o is obligaion or anancial package valued a $71 million over 30 years. The package included a$15 million paymen o he ciy and a subsidy o $2.47 million per year or sevenyears, expiring in 2009.1

The Ciy o Columbia has no developed permanen unding or he CMRTAsince. In Augus 2008, he CMRTA aced he possibiliy o ceasing service aer

Richland Couny Council did no renew an unpopular vehicle regisraion axha charged $16 or privae cars and $24 or commercial vehicles. This ax wasused o und he CMRTA. No renewing he vehicle regisraion ax led o asubsanial decrease in CMRTA service.In February 2009 Richland Couny Council voed o emporarily und he CM-

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Next Steps

The reerendum could be voed on in he November 2, 2010 General Elecion. Iapproved, he ax could begin collecion on January 2, 2011. The cos o placinghis reerendum on he ballo and collecing he ax would be minimal. Busi-nesses wihin he couny are already required o collec sales ax, and he pro-

posal would only change he percenage colleced.

However, voers may oppose an increase in he couny sales ax. For example,voers in Charleson opposed such an increase when i was iniially proposed.Forunaely, an increase in he sales ax o und he bus sysem has a srong allyin popular ve-erm Columbia Mayor Bob Coble. Having an infuenial propo-nen would likely build suppor or he reerendum.

Works CitedW1. ard, Eric. Comparing Bus Deals: Columbia v. Charleson Free Times. 27Aug. 2008. Free-imes.com 2 Mar. 2009 .Ward, Eric. Bus-Funding Plan Heading or Approval2. Free Times. 11 Feb. 2009.Free-imes.com 2 Mar. 2009 < htp://www.ree-imes.com/index.php?ca=1992912064017974&ShowAricle_ID=11011102093769899>.Local Sales Tax opion Richland Couny, Souh Carolina. Richlandonline.com 23.

Mar. 2009 Lack o Leadership Brings Bus Sysem CMRTA 20 June 2006. GoCMRTA.com4.2 Mar. 2009 Knich, Diane. Funds Cu For CARTA, TriCouny5. The Pos and Courier 18 Feb.2009. Charleson.ne 2 Mar. 2009 .Weyrich, Paul. How Transi Benes People who Do No Ride American Pub-6.lic Transporaion Associaion Oc 2003 APTA.com 2 Mar. 2009


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Subsidizing Alternative BiofuelPeer SchaengSchool, Cener

Subsidizing he culivaion o jaropha in areas o he rural AmericanSouh suering rom depleed soil will simulae local economies andencourage a viable alernaive energy source.

Key Points

J aropha curcas, a weed naive o Cenral America, produces oil inis rui ha has been successully used in he producion o biodie-sel.Much o he American Souh has poor soil due o previous use o heland. Jaropha can grow in nearly any soil in warm climaes.Jaropha is compleely inedible, meaning i avoids he ood or uelconroversy.Many rural Souherners would require emporary subsidies in ordero sar arming jaropha.

Background

In 2003, he mos recen year or which he Unied Saes Deparmen o Agri-culure has saisics, he rural povery rae in he Souh was 17.7%, he highesrae o any region in he counry and nearly 5% higher han he urban poveryrae in he souh.1 Tha gure is 3.5% higher han he naions rural povery rae.The same sudy shows ha he Souh has he highes concenraion o counieswih persisen povery (dened as more han 20% o he populaion in poverysince 1970). The vas majoriy o hese counies denoed as having persisenpovery are non-meropolian.

One conribuor o he Souhs rural povery is soil exhausion. Due o pasagriculural pracices, paricularly he overplaning o crops such as coton andobacco as well as he use o harmul erilizers, large secions o he Souhsarmland are no suiable or radiional crops.2 Jaropha has been culivaedwih remendous resuls in soil ha is oherwise no arable. Is only inhibior ogrowh is cold climaes, which makes much o he Souh, paricularly Texas, Lou-isiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida an ideal locaion or i.3 Addiionally,

he weeds rui has already been used in he producion o biodiesel, as severalairlines have run successul es fighs using jaropha je uel.4 Thanks o heseavorable resuls, Goldman Sachs has called i one o he bes candidaes oruure biodiesel producion.5 These posiive indicaors make jaropha an excel-len alernaive energy source in which he Unied Saes should inves.

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The proposed subsidy or armers wishing o culivae jaropha would be vari-able and would depend on he cos and he nancial siuaion o he armer.Prioriy unding would be given o applicans living in counies marked wihpersisen povery and whose average income is less han 200% o he poveryline, and who own a leas 20 acres o armable land. Aer hese applicans

receive unding, he remaining allomen would go o applicans meeing heabove requiremens in oher counies, and hen o any applican wih a leas20 acres o armable land unil he unding allomen is exhaused. This wouldensure ha low-income armers can ake advanage o his program and haonly hose wih adequae acreage receive unding. Subsidies would be avail-able on a decreasing scale or en years, a which poin he operaion will eiherbe proable or will ail.

AnalysisThis policy has hisorical preceden in public subsidies o armers. These sub-sidies amouned o $13.4 billion in 20066 and could easily be exended o arm-ers culivaing jaropha. Furhermore, he ederal governmen has subsidizedhe producion and developmen o alernaive energy sources since 1980.7 Thesubsanial cos ha his policy would incur could be paid by reducing subsi-dies o oher armers, as hey disproporionaely and unairly bene corporaearming operaions. A porion o he subsidies given o oher alernaive ener-

gy producers could be divered o cover he coss as well. Moreover, decreasedreliance on oreign oil and increased incomes in rural communiies in he Souhwould posiively impac he economy and counerbalance coss.

A possible barrier o his policy is he poenial diculy in processing and dis-ribuing biodiesel made rom an unconvenional source. However, each saein he Souh already conains a leas wo biodiesel producion aciliies8 andhree biodiesel disribuors.9 Any modicaions necessary o hese aciliies o

prepare hem o process jaropha could be paid or hrough he subsidy pro-gram or by he aciliy isel i i is economically viable opion. Iniial coss ohis program would no be a major concern because o is grea pro poenial,as biodiesel conains more han hree imes he amoun o energy ha i akeso produce.10

Invesing in biodiesel producion rom jaropha in he Souh could increase in-comes and land values in poor rural communiies.


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Health IT for Southern CHCsJeremy Ford

Universiy o Norh Carolina a Chapel Hill

Increased nancial suppor or elecronic medical records (EMRs)would improve healhcare oucomes o he uninsured in souherncommuniy healh ceners (CHCs).

Key Points

Elecronic medical records in CHCs have he poenial o miigaehealh dispariies or rural uninsured paiens.1

Souhern sae legislaures mus increase heir nancial suppor o

EMRs in rural CHCs o supplemen recen ederal legislaion.2

Legislaion on boh he sae and ederal level mus do more o en-courage he adopion o proven EMR sysems.

BackgroundCommuniy healh ceners serve as a medical saey ne or low-income anduninsured populaions.3 People who earn moderae incomes are increasinglylikely o be uninsured.4 Thereore, wih he persising economic crisis, i is more

likely ha people o middle-class backgrounds will also nd hemselves in heCHC sysem as he number o uninsured will coninue o increase.

This presens problems or he already underunded CHCs o souhern saes.For example, here are 26 ederally unded CHCs in Boson bu only 28 CHCsin he enire sae o Norh Carolina.5,6 Due o he lower populaion densiy,people oen rom rural areas are oen required o ravel long disances, crea-ing major accessibiliy issues.7

Given he growing number o uninsured individuals and he problems acedby souhern clinics, CHCs mus be as ecien as possible. In ambulaory care,an acceped mehod or improving eciency and healh oucomes is he uili-zaion o elecronic medical records. The poenial benes include reducedoperaional coss, improved prevenive care, and ewer adverse drug evens.8However, he capial coss o EMRs or cash-srapped CHCs are prohibiive.9Federal and sae governmens should hereore provide suppor or CHCs o

implemen eecive EMR sysems o ose he problems hese clinics ace inrural setings.

Analysis

According o a survey by he Commonwealh Fund, Florida was he only souh-ern sae ha idenied EMRs as a signican issue.10 However, here has been

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legislaive aciviy regarding EMRs hroughou he souh. Suppor has ypicallybeen in he orm o ax credis or clinics ha have already implemened EMRsysems. Unorunaely his is no helpul o CHCs, which usually do no havehe nancial resources o implemen EMRs. Thereore, hey are unable o re-ceive a ax credi pos invesmen. Some saes have sressed sandardizaion

and ineroperabiliy, an essenial elemen o a usable EMR sysem, bu only heFlorida legislaure has direcly addressed low-income paiens by unding EMRdevelopmen or Medicaid providers.11

On he ederal level, he rs major success in EMR legislaion was an atach-men on Presiden Obamas economic recovery package $19 billion or as-sisance in implemening EMRs in docors oces. This bill included $40,000 inincenives or physicians who use EMRs, he creaion o gran programs, and

resources o promoe ineroperabiliy.12

This muli-aceed approach o suppor EMR policies is a sep in he righ direc-ion. However, uure policy regarding EMRs mus be inormed by proven EMRsysems ha have worked or boh paiens and praciioners. This will allowederal legislaion o opimize he eec o is incenives by allocaing moreunds or clinics ha have or will adop a proven model o EMR uilizaion. Giv-en echnologys abiliy o ose he ineciencies aced by rural CHCs, souhern

sae legislaures should supplemen ederal suppor wih grans direced o-ward rural EMR developmen. EMR sysems hroughou he rural souh wouldimprove clinic eciency and healh oucomes.

Works Cited

Fi1. scella, K and Geiger, HJ (2006) Healh Inormaion Technology and Qualiy Im-provemen or Communiy Healh Ceners. Healh Aairs 25:405-412.htp://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pd/110/sbill.pd2.Naional Associaion o Communiy Healh Ceners, The Saey Ne on he Edge,3.Augus 2005, htp://www.nachc.org/research/Files/SNrepor2005.pd; and J. Tay-lor, The Fundamenals o Communiy Healh Ceners, NHPF Background Paper, 31Augus 2004, htp://www.gwumc.edu/sphhs/healhpolicy/ggprogram/BP_CHC_08-31-04.pdTanne, JH (2006) Number o Uninsured US Ciizens Grows. BMJ 332:1047.4.Communiy Healh Ceners in Norh Carolina. The Norh Carolina Communiy5.Healh Cener Associaion. htp://www.ncchca.org/page.aspx?id=177278Communiy Healh Ceners by Boson Neighborhood. Massachusets League o6.Communiy Healh Ceners. htp://www.massleague.org/HealhCeners-ByBos-onNeighborhood.hmThomas, AA (2005) Access o Transporaion and Healh Care Uilizaion in a Rural7.Region. Journal o Rural Healh 21:31-38.Hillesad, R, e al. (2005) Can Elecronic Medical Records Transorm Healh Care?8.Poenial Healh Benes, Savings, and Coss. Healh Aairs 24:1103-1117.Shields, AE, e al. (2007) Adopion o HIT in Communiy Healh Ceners: A Naional9.


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Survey. Healh Aairs 26:1374-1383.V. K. Smih, K. Giord, S. Kramer, e al. (2008) Sae E-Healh Aciviies in 2007:10.Findings From a Sae Survey, The Commonwealh Fund.Naional Conerence o Sae Legislaors (2007) 2007 Sae Legislaion on Elec-11.ronic Healh Records and Personal Healh Records. htp://www.ncsl.org/pro-grams/healh/orum/07EHRChar.hmhtp://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pd/110/sbill.pd12.

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LEED Certification in SchoolsMichael Levy and Tyler OConnor

School, Cener

Employ LEED Cericaion sandards or consrucion o new schoolbuildings in he Dekalb Couny School Disric o save money onlong-run energy and uiliy coss while improving he learning envi-ronmen or sudens.

Key Facts

T he Leadership in Energy and Environmenal Design Cericaion isa building sandard developed by he Unied Saes Green BuildingCouncil, judging he energy eciency o new buildings.1

A ypical LEED ceried school saves an average o $100,000 peryear in reduced operaional coss due o energy eciency.2Sudy o Chicago and DC area schools ound documened increaseo 3-4 poins on sandardized es scores wih environmenally sus-ainable aciliies.3

Dekalb Couny Schools can parake in his susainabiliy venure andimprove he suden healh while simulaneously reducing he long-

erm uiliy coss o all heir aciliies.

Background

Curren building codes in Dekalb Couny, Georgia ocus on limiing shor-ermconsrucion coss bu neglec he signicanly higher long-erm operaionalcoss resuling rom inecien energy consumpion. To encourage he con-srucion o boh susainable and economical buildings, he U.S. Green Build-ing Council esablished he Leadership in Energy and Environmenal Design(LEED) Cericaion, which provides guidelines or he consrucion o all newbuildings.4 LEED Cericaion decreases coss by employing environmenalsandards ha recognize and eliminae energy ineciencies.5 Alhough sever-al public schools in Georgia (as well as buildings a Emory Universiy in Alana)have been buil o mee LEED requiremens, he recenly nished Arabia Moun-ain High School is he rs LEED Ceried public school in he Dekalb CounySchool Disric.6 The chie archiec o Arabia Mounain, Sean Hamlin, expecssignican savings resuling rom less energy use.7 Alhough LEED schools ini-

ially cos marginally more han non-LEED schools, he decreased operaionalcoss associaed wih susainable schools make hem a less expensive long-erminvesmen.8 In addiion o he economic benes, susainable public schoolshave seen educaional and healh benes relaive o heir radiionally con-sruced peers.9 Because o he benes associaed wih LEED Ceried public

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schools, many public ocials around he counry have joined eors o promoesusainabiliy iniiaives in he naions public school sysems.10

Analysis

The primary challenge conroning he susainable schools movemen is he no-

ion ha buildings designed o environmenal sandards incur severe consruc-ion cos premiums. However, improvemens in echnology have reduced heaverage premium on LEED ceried schools o only $3 per square oo, or abou1.7% o projec coss.11 This iniial cos premium is derayed by reduced lie-cyclecoss as well as economies o scale when environmenal sandards are widelyadoped, enabling he bulk purchase o LEED compaible consrucion maeri-als.12 The average LEED Ceried school saves an average o $100,000 peryear in reduced operaional coss due o decreased energy and waer con-

sumpion.13 The benes o LEED Cericaion are already being seen in DekalbCouny, where Arabia Mounain High School, he rs LEED ceried schoolbuil in he school disric, is expeced o see a 25% savings on energy coss.The school also nished six monhs ahead o schedule and resuled in a minimalcos premium relaive o oher non-LEED projecs.14 Similarly, he sae o Ohiohas calculaed savings o $1.4 billion over he nex 40 years due o implemena-ion o environmenal sandards in public schools.15

Consrucing LEED Ceried schools also resuls in healhier, beter-educaedsudens. Because o poor air qualiy and venilaion, radiionally consrucedpublic schools buildings can have harmul eecs on sudens.16 LEED Cerica-ion provides sandards or air qualiy and venilaion and has been shown oreduce suden abseneeism and increase produciviy.17 Green schools havealso achieved a documened 12% decrease in eacher sick days, beneingsudens and operaional botom lines alike.18 Anoher sudy o Chicago andWashingon, D.C. area schools ound ha beter school aciliies can add hree

o our percenage poins o a schools sandardized es scores, even whenconrolling or demographic acors.19

Recenly, biparisan groups o Unied Saes Mayors and Congressmanhave joined in he eor o provide our youh healhy and susainable publicschools.20,21 Wih Presiden Obamas Simulus Package allocaing over $200 mil-lion o Georgia or sae and local weaherizaion and energy eciency eors,now is he ime or Dekalb Couny o ake responsibiliy and implemen LEEDsandards in all new public schools.22

Works Cited

1. Wha LEED Is. Inro- Wha LEED Is. 2008. Unied Saes Green Building Council.19 July 2009 .Burnham, Michael. Green Schools Caucus Sprous on Capiol Hill. U.S. Green2.


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.Building Council. 17 November 2007. htp://www.buildgreenschools.org/news/news_sory_1.hmlSchneider, Mark. Public School Faciliies and Teaching: Washingon, DC and Chi-3.cago, November 2002.Wha LEED Is. Inro- Wha LEED Is. 2008. Unied Saes Green Building Council.4.19 July 2009 .Wha LEED Measures. Inro- Wha LEED Measures. 2008. U.S. Green Building Coun-5.cil. 19 July 2009 .Kaz, Gregory. Greening Americas Schools: Coss and Benes. Ocober6.2006. A Capial E Repor. 20 March 2009. htp://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumenID=2908Hamlin/Perkins and Will Archiecs, Sean. Inerview wih Sean Hamlin. Telephone7.inerview. 25 Feb. 2009.Green Schools 101. Build Green Schools. 2009. U.S. Green Building Council. 208.Mar. 2009 .Kaz, Gregory. Greening Americas Schools: Coss and Benes. Ocober9.2006. A Capial E Repor. 20 March 2009. htp://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumenID=2908Burnham, Michael. Green Schools Caucus Sprous on Capiol Hill. U.S. Green10..Building Council. 17 November 2007.Kaz, Gregory. Greening Americas Schools: Coss and Benes. Ocober11.2006. A Capial E Repor. 20 March 2009. htp://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumenID=2908Hamlin/Perkins and Will Archiecs, Sean. Inerview wih Sean Hamlin. Telephone12.inerview. 25 Feb. 2009Burnham, Michael. Green Schools Caucus Sprous on Capiol Hill. U.S. Green13..Building Council. 17 November 2007.Hamlin/Perkins and Will Archiecs, Sean. Inerview wih Sean Hamlin. Telephone14.inerview. 25 Feb. 2009King, Ledyard. Cos, Concerns Push Schools o Use Eco-riendly Elemens. USA15.Today [Mclean, Virginia] 30 July 2008: .Hamlin/Perkins and Will Archiecs, Sean. Inerview wih Sean Hamlin. Telephone16.inerview. 25 Feb. 2009Kaz, Gregory. Greening Americas Schools: Coss and Benes. Ocober17.2006. A Capial E Repor. 20 March 2009. htp://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumenID=2908Ibid.18.Schneider, Mark. Public School Faciliies and Teaching: Washingon, DC and Chi-19.cago, November 2002.Mayors Alliance or Green Schools Announced. U.S. Green Builiding Council. 16,20.Ocober 2008. htp://www.usgbc.org/News/PressReleaseDeails.aspx?ID=3855. 21March 2009.Green Schools Caucus: Making he Case on Capiol Hill. U.S. Green Building21.Council. htp://www.buildgreenschools.org/acion/green_schools_caucus.hml 21,March 2009.Newkirk, Margare. Simulus Sparks Surge in Energy Conservaion Indusry. A-22.lana Journal Consiuion. Alana,, Georgia. 29, March 2009. htp://www.ajc.com/business/conen/business/sories/2009/03/29/georgia_energy_simulus.hml

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Inclusionary Zoning in Athens, GAEllyn Echols

Universiy o Georgia

Ahens-Clarke Couny, Georgia is acing a housing crisis no uncom-mon in he Souh. Pas zoning ordinances have served o segregaesuburban neighborhoods and leave low o median-income earnerswihou access o aordable homes. By adoping inclusionary zon-ing (IZ) in Ahens-Clarke Couny (ACC), he local governmen canno only promoe he availabiliy o housing or lower-income resi-dens, bu also inegrae a socio-economically sraied communiy.

Key Points

As new or renovaed housing caers o sudens in ACC, some renand homeownership coss rise in he area and many residens can nolonger aord housing.ACC has idenied a specic populaion ha can no longer aordhousing and denes his low-income group as amilies earning 30percen or less o he median income o he area.Inclusionary zoning no only coss litle o he local governmen in

adminisraive coss, bu can also produce mixed-income neighbor-hoods and provides high qualiy, aordable homes.

Background

Hisorically, he ederal governmen has been he oremos enacor o policyor aordable housing across he counry. Currenly, however, local govern-mens are aking a much more acive role in consrucing policies ha direclyimpac he availabiliy o qualiy, aordable unis in he communiy. In 2002,

he Deparmen o Human and Economic Developmen (HED) in ACC releaseda comprehensive sudy on housing concluding ha, while Ahens has sucienhousing in erms o rue numbers o available unis, mos o hese unis were in-accessible or hose earning less han 30 percen o he median income or hisarea.1 Furhermore, no unlike oher communiies in he Souh, ACC aces heproblem o supplying qualiy, aordable unis or homeownership o individualswho lie beween low-income and upper middle class populaions. These peopleare someimes known as he public service demographic, as a signican per-

cenage o hem are employed as eachers, policemen, and remen. This grouppresens a need or high qualiy, aordable housing in a locaion near bus linesor conducive o a shor commue. In order o promoe his kind o developmen,he local governmen could adop a policy o inclusionary zoning, requiring de-velopers o include a cerain percenage o aordable housing in new develop-mens. This policy approach coss litle o he local governmen in adminisra-

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ive coss while poenially providing mixed income neighborhoods and goodqualiy, aordable houses and ownhouses in new developmens. ACC shouldadop his approach o promoe aordable housing or he communiy and oprovide susainable housing or uure generaions.

AnalysisIn recen years, inclusionary zoning (IZ) has been used o promoe inegraion oaordable housing unis in residenial developmen in ciies like Boson, Wash-ingon, DC and San Francisco. IZ ordinances eiher permi or require builderso new developmens o devoe a percenage o heir projecs o aordablehousing in exchange or some non-moneary incenives. These ordinances arefexible and hus adapable o dieren communiies housing rends. Furher-more, IZ allows new, ull price developmen o coninue while simulaneously

producing qualiy, aordable unis or medium o low-income populaions.

For Ahens specically, inclusionary zoning oers he chance or increasinglyscarce land o be used in a way ha is benecial o all members o he com-muniy. Since research shows ha mandaory programs are ar more eec-ive a producing aordable unis, he governing body should adop a policyo mandaory inclusionary zoning. This policy would be adminisered by heplanning deparmen, which can hen speciy erms or builder compensaion

(unless already designaed in he governing ordinance.)

The larger benes o inclusionary zoning are wo-old. Firs, inclusionary zoningrelies less on moneary suppor rom he public han oher acics o promoeaordable housing and is seen as more scally susainable or a communiy.Alhough developers may realize less pro or even lose money on aordableunis, incenives, such as densiy bonuses, help avoid negaive nancial impac.Second, IZ promoes socio-economic and racial inegraion wihin new devel-

opmens, as well as he school sysems ha serve hese areas.2

Criics argue ha wih mandaory IZ ordinances, developers will simply buildelsewhere. However, making he program mandaory levels he playing eldor all developers wihin he communiy, allowing he land and housing markeo adjus or his elemen.

There is litle research o dae abou how IZ ordinances aec housing markeso communiies ha employ hem in he long erm. The research ha is avail-able indicaes ha hese programs mus be ailored ciy by ciy o be eecive.The abiliy or cusomizaion is a unique and posiive qualiy o adoping IZordinances in Ahens-Clarke Couny and across he Souh.


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Raising Taxes on GA CigarettesLucas Puene

Universiy o Georgia

The Georgia General Assembly should adop legislaion o raisehe excise ax on cigaretes rom $0.37 o $1.21, hereby providinghe sae wih much-needed unds while gradually encouraging de-creased cigarete consumpion.

Key Points

The Sae o Georgia aces a budge deci o $2.2 billion or FY2010.20 percen o Georgians smoke cigaretes, cosing he sae $1.8 bil-lion annually in medical coss and $3.3 billion in los produciviy rommorbidiy and moraliy.The curren average or sae cigarete excise ax raes is $1.21 perpack, while Georgias excise ax on cigaretes o $0.37 is he 43rdlowes rae in he counry.Raising he Georgia excise ax on cigaretes would yield hundreds omillions o dollar in revenue, erode derimenal cigarete consump-

ion among Georgians, and refec he will o Georgians accordingo public opinion surveys.

Background

The Sae o Georgia currenly aces an unprecedened budge shorall o$2.2 billion or FY 2010.1 Alhough he American Recovery and ReinvesmenAc has parially helped address Georgias budgeary challenges, sae legisla-ors mus ake addiional measures o ensure a properly unded governmen.

Moreover, weny percen o aduls and high school sudens in Georgia smokecigaretes, a rend esimaed o lead o lehal cases o lung cancer or 180,000curren middle school sudens in Georgia.2 Unorunaely, budgeary shorallsand public healh concerns atribued o smoking are no unique o Georgia;hroughou he Souh, saes are sruggling o balance heir books and reducehealh expendiures direcly relaed o smoking. Sae policy makers mus ad-dress hese challenges. Raising he sae excise ax on cigaretes is one o hemos eecive ools in combaing he public healh concerns o cigarete con-

sumpion and raising revenue or sae governmens. Alhough Georgia washe second sae o originally adop his scal insrumen, is curren cigareteexcise ax is he ory-hird lowes in he naion a $0.37 per pack, well below henaional average o $1.21.3 This rend is common across he Souh, wih an aver-age excise ax o merely $0.38.5 in Kenucky, Virginia, Norh and Souh Caro-lina, Georgia, and Tennessee.4 Thus, Georgia, like all souhern saes, should

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raise is excise ax on cigaretes o $1.21, hus placing i on par wih he naionalaverage.

Analysis

The benes o implemening his policy are remarkably posiive as a rise in

cigarete excise axes nearly always resuls in increased scal revenues anddiminished consumpion.5 To quaniy he ormer, a $1 excise ax increase wouldprovide he sae o Georgia wih an esimaed $450 million annually.1 For helater, he benes are even more unambiguously posiive; or every 10 percenincrease in price, overall cigarete consumpion will all 3-5 percen and smok-ing among children will drop 6-7 percen.6 This reducion in consumpion wouldsubsanially alleviae he $1.8 billion annually ha he sae direcly bears incigarete-relaed healh coss, as well as he $3.3 billion in los produciviy due

o morbidiy and moraliy.1 Poliically, his iniiaive is viable, as 79 percen oDemocras and 73 percen o Republicans in Georgia supporing an excise axincrease o $1.00.7

Furhermore, i Georgia were o adop his policy recommendaion, i would beollowing he pah o is regional peers. Norh Carolina is considering passing a$0.50 excise ax increase, while Arkansas and Kenucky recenly doubled heirax and Florida raised is ax by $1.00.8 Changes have also occurred in Wash-

ingon, where legislaion passed in February raised he ederal cigarete ax o$1.01 rom $0.39.

Despie he obvious benes, a ew predicable skepics remain, noably heNaional Associaion o Tobacco Oules. The organizaion argues ha his axincrease will lead o approximaely 117,000 job losses in he obacco indusryas consumpion drops and pro margins shrink.9 However, several sources oacademic lieraure ates ha any decrease in obacco indusry employmen

could easily be ose by a labor-marke expansion in oher consumable goodsindusries ha would be caalyzed by a more ecien allocaion o resources.10

Overall, Georgia would be wise o raise is excise ax on cigaretes o $1.21. Al-hough legislaion advocaing a $1.00 increase ailed o pass hrough he saeHouse earlier his year, many sae policy makers remain commited o enacinghis meriorious legislaion.12 Such a move would simulaneously address saebudgeary and public healh concerns, place Georgia on par wih is peers, andmore accuraely refec public senimen in he sae.


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Works Cited

Tax1. Reorm: A Realiy Check. Georgia Budge and Policy Insiue. 20 Jan. 2009..Jones, Waler C. Docors Seek Higher Tax on Cigaretes.2. Augusa Chronicle. 6Feb. 2009. .

Reducing Tobacco Use:3. Lindlom, Eric. Sae Cigarete Excise Tax Raes and Rankings. Campaign or4.Tobacco Free Kids. 15 Oc. 2008. .McKay, Besy. Cigarete Tax Clouds Booss Among Saes.5. Wall Sree Journal. 8Feb. 2009 .Lindlom, Eric and Boonn, Ann. Raising Cigarete Taxes Reduces Smoking, Espe-6.cially Among Kids. Campaign or Tobacco-Free Kids. 9 Jan. 2009. .

Voers in All Saes Suppor Signican Increases in Sae Cigarete Taxes. Cam-7. paign or Tobacco-Free Kids. July 2008. .Baxer, Tom. New Tobacco Tess Meaning o Inelasic Demand.8. Souhern Polii-cal Repor. 1 April 2009. < htp://www.souhernpoliicalrepor.com/sorylink_41_823.aspx>.Brian, Thomas. Massive Tobacco Tax Increase by Congress Spells Even More9.Economic Disaser or Jobs. Naional Associaion o Tobacco Oules. 12Jan. 2009. .Chaloupka, Frank J e. al. The Economics o Tobacco Conrol.10. Brieng Noesin Economics. Dec. 2004. < htp://www.richmond.ac.uk/bne/63_Frank_Chaloupka.pd>.Sephens, Ron, e. al. House Bill 39. H.B. 39. 2009. .

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Curbing Dropouts with P.A.R.K.Kaherine Bogle, Andrew Burnet, Karie Cross, Neely Hewes, Kahleen

Larkin, Amy Litleon, Tiany Parrish, and Bobby WilkinsonSchool?

Executive Summary

Posi ive role models, supplemenal academic assisance, and healhyrecreaional aciviies are no oen available o a-risk youh inSouhern urban areas, leading o alarmingly high drop-ou raesrom high school.Posiive Amosphere Reaches Kids, or P.A.R.K., serves as a supple-menal educaion and characer developmen program or high

school sudens deemed a-risk due o having GPAs below 2.5.P.A.R.K. provides a sae environmen or sudens o gain scholasicassisance and engage in posiive aciviies while ataining key lieskills such as pracices or a healhy liesyle and appropriae socialineracion. In 2009, he programs enh graduaing class includedweny-ve graduaes who had ormerly been a-risk.Programs similar o P.A.R.K. should be developed in oher Souhernciies o help address educaion problems and high drop-ou raes.

Funding could be provided by local businesses and universiies orcelebriies and spors gures naive o he area.In order o be successuln oher urban areas in he Souh, he P.A.R.K.model mus be ailored o he specic needs o each communiy.To illusrae he P.A.R.K. models abiliy o adap o specic needsin various urban communiies, we analyze he educaional needs inTexas, Louisiana, and Georgia.The PARK model can address region specic issues such as inad-

equae academics, language and culural diversiy, and nuriionaland healh concerns. P.A.R.K.s mehod o helping young people inevery aspec o heir lives allows i o address each o hese specicissues.

Introduction

Florida, Georgia, Souh Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, NorhCarolina, Tennessee, and Virginia make up en o he eigheen saes whose

public high school graduaion raes ell below he 2006 naional average o68.6 percen.1 The disproporionae number o Souhern saes ha all inohis caegory raises a red fag or policy makers across he region. Failure oaddress he socioeconomic dispariies in he Souh has led o he loss o poen-ial inellecual capial. Due o he lack o menal simulaion and a communiyenvironmen conducive o educaion, a-risk Souhern youh oen ail o realize

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The P.A.R.K. program repors ha sudens rom hisorically disadvanaged mi-noriy groups, including American Indians, Hispanics, and Arican Americans,have barely a 50 percen chance o graduaing wih a high school diploma.Sudens who atend schools in areas characerized by high povery raes andracial segregaion are 15 percen o 18 percen less likely o graduae han su-

dens atending schools ha are relaively ree rom hose problems.8 Hispanicyouh are more a risk han oher sudens, comprising 41 percen o high schooldropous in 2005 even hough hey accouned or only 17 percen o he popula-ion.9

This lack o educaion creaes a cycle o povery as educaional atainmen ishighly correlaed wih uure income. According o he Child Trends Daa Bank,high school dropous earn an average o $9,245 less per year han sudens

who earn a diploma.10

A poenial source or hese disurbing saisics is helack o communiy and home suppor received by such sudens. Oenimes inpovery sricken homes, parens are working in he aernoons and summers,and sudens do no obain he homework help, encouragemen, and access orecreaional aciviies ha successul youhs receive.

P.A.R.K. has ound a way o bridge he educaional gap ha is creaed by eco-nomic, racial, and ehnic backgrounds, as well as a plehora o oher acors.

The program arges all sudens wih a GPA o 2.5 or less, largely due o heac ha hese sudens are ineligible or aer-school spors and clubs. P.A.R.K.is a non-pro organizaion ounded by Keih Jackson, an Arkansas naive andormer NFL ooball player. The Litle Rock aciliy has a capaciy o 250 su-dens and an annual budge o $1 million wih a mission o provide high-risk su-dens he opporuniy o urher heir educaion by compleing high school sohey can atend college.11 I pursues a hree-old goal: encouraging academicachievemen ha will open up new opporuniies, insilling a concep o inrin-sic sel worh and spiriualiy, and eaching discipline o service and helpingohers. P.A.R.K. believes ha sudens whose minds are osered in his ype oenvironmen will become acive, conribuing members o sociey.

The sronges, and oen oughes criics o P.A.R.K., he sudens hemselves,have indicaed ha hey are very supporive o he program. According o asurvey aken o 116 P.A.R.K. paricipans, 87 percen o sudens are glad heyparicipaed and say ha he program has helped hem wih heir sudy skills.Seveny-ve percen o sudens grades improved, and 97 percen o sudens

advocaed paricipaion in a program similar o P.A.R.K. o address academicconcerns. 91 percen o paricipans say ha heir uure is brigher because ohe program. When asked wha hey would do in he aernoons aer schooli hey were no a he P.A.R.K. aciliy, sudens responded ha hey wouldbe playing games, hanging ou on he srees, and basically doing anyhing o

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amuse hemselves besides heir homework.12

A curren P.A.R.K. paricipan, Rodrick McCullom, repors ha his lie has com-pleely changed since he began his ve-year commimen o he program. Mo-nique Marin-Palmer, he Educaion Oureach Coordinaor, repors, Rodrick

sared he program a shy and quie kid. He oen ried o ade ino he back-ground. Over ve years, we have seen him blossom here a P.A.R.K. He hasimproved his grades, sepped ino leadership roles and is very acive in his com-muniy.13 Rodricks ransormaion is he ideal success sory or he P.A.R.K.program. His lies urn-around illusraes he good ha ocused atenion cando or disadvanaged, a-risk sudens.

Tyler Desbrow represens anoher success sory. His ACT score o 23 is he

highes ever achieved by a P.A.R.K. suden, and he will atend he Universiy oArkansas a Fayeteville his all. Precious Bell, a curren paricipan and seniora Litle Rocks John L. McClellan High School, achieved he highes GPA or asudens rs nine-week period, a a 3.85. Bell is also acive in his communiy,presening he dangers o obacco use o local elemenary school sudens andparicipaes in Fuure Business Leaders o America.14

Anoher paricipan, Rober Irby, claims ha he program saved him rom a

dangerous lie o gang aciviy. I really, ruly unraveled me and helped meblossom ino he young man I waned o be. When I was seleced [o paricipaein P.A.R.K.] in he eighh grade, I was in he peak o my gang aciviy. [P.A.R.K.]gave me a place o go aer school o keep me rom geting involved on hesree.15 As demonsraed by he above esimonies, P.A.R.K. no only providesa sae place or youh o ge academic help, bu i also ransorms lives.

Proposal

Socieal problems ound hroughou Souhern ciies can be combaed by policyiniiaives o implemen P.A.R.K. model programs. These specic and argeedaer school programs or a-risk high school sudens ransorm young peoplewho exhaus law enorcemen and welare unds ino successul, produciveciizens. Alhough ciies would be required o inves in he programs iniially,hey would gain ar more in resources long-erm unding by creaing a beter-educaed, engaged communiy. Due o hese remendous benes, local gov-ernmens across he saes in he Souh should pass a resoluion, which desig-naes land or he specic use o P.A.R.K. program iniiaives.

Sudens who are argeed by his program end o live in inner ciies and pov-ery-sricken areas ha have ew sae places o be ouside. Recreaion aciliiesand summer programs will moivae sudens o atend and will provide con-srucive subsiues o aciviies such as drug use and gang involvemen com-


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mon among youh in povery sricken areas. A program similar o P.A.R.K. willhave he abiliy o und consrucion o baskeball cours, green spaces, and en-closed areas away rom he dangers o rac, polluion, and oher hazardoussree condiions. Such open and sae places will enable sudens o srenghenheir bodies as well as heir minds. I hey have no sae place o be acive ou-

doors, hey are ar more likely o develop a sedenary liesyle, leading o uurehealh problems associaed wih obesiy. Ulimaely, aer-school programs likeP.A.R.K. would oer a-risk sudens a sae alernaive o he srees ha woulddevelop he enire sudenmind, body, and characer.

Implementation

The key acor o he implemenaion o hese programs would be adapabiliy.

The objecive is no ransplanaion o P.A.R.K. in Litle Rock, bu adapaiono imporan ideas ha mold o he needs o each communiy. An illusra-ion o his policy can be seen in he urban communiies o Texas, Louisiana,and Georgiahree Souhern saes wih unique challenges. These saes werespecically chosen based on heir economic signicance, demographic varia-ion among heir respecive populaions, and heir overall need or academical-ly-ocused atenion o high-risk youh in heir public high schools.

As sudens o diverse backgrounds immigrae ino he Unied Saes wihouEnglish speaking skills, he knowledge hey began o develop in heir homecounries rarely comes o ruiion. A sudy done by he Pew Hispanic Cen-er explains ha only eigh percen o he naions eens are oreign born,bu nearly [one ourh] o een school dropous were born ouside he UniedSaes. Texas, more so han oher Souhern saes, has a high rae o oreignborn or non-naive English speaking sudens. According o he U.S. CensusBureau, 31.2% o households in Texas do no speak English in he home. Due

o lack o immersion-based English language enrichmen in heir homes, hesesudens oen nd hemselves a a disadvanage in heir school classes. Theinnae dissaisacion o sudens who have a hard ime undersanding heireachers and peers is srong moivaion o consider dropping ou o school.However, he PARK model can easily adap o provide English as a SecondLanguage (ESOL) classes o hese sudens. Wih he abiliy o provide ESOLclasses and an English-immersion environmen ouside o he home, P.A.R.K.model programs comba he issues ha hese Texas sudens ace in comple-ing heir educaion.16

A disheareningly common problem ound among much o Louisianas youh,which P.A.R.K. programs can address, is malnuriion. In a sudy o major urbanareas in he sae o Louisiana, LSU AgCener ood and nuriion exper Dr.Annrose Guarino saes ha more han 40 percen o low-income children live

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in homes ha do no have access o nuriionally adequae dies. This correla-ion beween low qualiy dies and low household incomes adds an inriguingaspec o he docke o possible urban issues ha a P.A.R.K. model programcan address. The same sudy saes, Elemenary school children rom ood-insucien amilies were more likely o have repeaed a grade in school and

have higher raes o ardiness and absences rom school, which may aecheir overall academic perormance. I elemenary-age children begin heiracademic careers disadvanaged because o poor dies, hey are more likely ohave a dicul ime in upper levels o heir educaion, quie possibly resuling indrop-ous. P.A.R.K. model programs can be ailored o address he nuriionalneeds o disadvanaged sudens by providing nuriious snacks and educaionand incenives or a healhy lie-syle.17

Addiionally, an innovaive componen o he Arkansas P.A.R.K. program haurher addresses he needs o is sudens is a recen parnership wih Blueand You Foundaion or a Healhier Arkansas.18 Sudens work oward a beterqualiy o lie as hey compee or prizes in weigh loss compeiions. Teams vieor poins by exercising, eaing vegeables, and paricipaing in aciviies suchas Zumba, a ness program inspired by Lain dance. Similar healh and nessprograms could be implemened in all aciliies.

While some saes have very unique and ineresing needs ha can be ad-dressed, some, like he sae o Georgia, simply need a srong, inensied ocuson suden academics. P.A.R.K. model programs also ulll his radiional rolewhile adding an essenial layer o physical and characer developmen. In Eng-lish/Language Ars, only 47% o high school suden mee or exceed he saeo Georgias esing requiremens annually. Even worse, in he area o Mah-emaics/Science, only 25% annually mee or exceed he saes requiremens.The holisic approach ha P.A.R.K. model programs ollow is able o addressboh he radiional aspec o academic uoring and he measurable concernso academic success. By specically argeing he academic concerns aced bya-risk sudens, access o upper-level educaion and beter jobs will improveno only he individual suden, bu also he communiies in which hey reside.

In addiion o programs designed o mee he specic needs o each sae andcommuniy, a ypical P.A.R.K. model aciliy would include a sudy and uoringarea ully equipped wih compuers, as well as a library, voluneer uors, andoher resources o help promoe academic success. The sudens would be pro-

vided wih a caeeria supplying aer school snacks and exensive recreaionalspaces or hem o enjoy aer heir homework is compleed. Recreaional op-ions could include muliple baskeball cours, a rack, a weigh room wih exer-cise equipmen, a game room wih oosball ables and gaming sysems, a girlsroom ha includes a beauy salon ha is kep socked wih hair and nail sup-


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plies, and an expansive backyard or oudoor aciviies. Each aciliy can beailored o he individuals who are enrolled in he program o heir specicneeds.

These programs would no serve sudens only aer school hours; similar o he

P.A.R.K. program in Litle Rock, aciliies and uors would be available o su-dens, and a someimes required, during he summer. Due o space limiaions,all eligible sudens are unable o be acceped, hereore, poenial sudensmus go hrough a rigorous selecion process in which boh sudens and heiramilies are inerviewed. Sudens new o he program, he mos commited andmoivaed young people, would undergo a period o inensive, remedial educa-ional insrucion ocusing on core subjecs in a summer enrichmen program.This helps ensure ha sudens will have as solid an academic base as possible

beore enering heir eighh grade year, a crucial ime o learning beore highschool. I also provides he opporuniy o sharpen scholasic skills ha havegrown dull rom a summers disuse.

Academic achievemen would be evaluaed every nine weeks, holding sudensaccounable o he program. Those wih more han one D or F on heir reporcard would spend more ime working on academic skills while a he programaciliies.19 Once sudens ener he 10h grade, P.A.R.K. programs would pro-

vide addiional college preparaory work. Sudens will learn sandardized esaking mehods, be augh how o nd scholarships, and ake ours o area col-leges and universiies.

A unique aspec o he Litle Rock program ha could be adaped and individu-alized elsewhere is he incenive sysem used o reward hard work. Sudensearn poins or atendance, academic achievemen, and good behavior. Poinswould be used or special aciviies such as rips o he heaer, an amusemenpark, or sporing even. When sudens go above and beyond expecaions,hey would see immediae resuls. These incenive programs encourage hesudens o coninue working hard, resuling in long-erm academic improve-mens.

Sudens would be uored in ways ha no only improve heir grades, bu alsodevelop srong personal characers. P.A.R.K. programs would seek o providean enriching environmen ha enables sudens o grow holisically. Inegriywould be emphasized in hese highly selecive programs, because good grades

are no he only imporan componen o a resume or a college applicaion.Poenial employers o hese sudens need o know ha heir employees willbe hones and diligen, someimes in spie o heir backgrounds.

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Funding

One o he mos crucial obsacles o he implemenaion o programs modeledaer P.A.R.K. is unding. The ac or he mater is ha or hese programs oge o he ground, unding is going o have o come rom a variey o sources.Local communiies should be proacive and creaive abou places rom which

o raise money. One innovaive opion would be or he programs o be undedby parnerships wih local businesses. These businesses would be moivaed oinves because o ax incenives, he poenial or he growh and developmeno a new and loyal workorce, posiive press and goodwill in he communiy, aswell as ree and posiive adverising. Businesses can receive ax deducionsbased upon he oal income o he business. Ten percen o income can be giv-en as conribuions o organizaions, all o which is ax deducible.20 Sudensin hese programs and oher communiy members will be aware ha hey are

unded by cerain businesses, and i represenaives rom hose businesses havea presence in he sudens lives, urher osering he relaionships beween heprogram and he businesses. This may well lead o he opporuniy or hebes sudens o graduae and go o work a he companies ha played sucha crucial role in heir developmen and success. This will creae long-sandingrus and loyaly beween employer and employees. In addiion, he connecionbeween businesses and aer-school programs will provide impoverished anda-risk sudens wih neworking opporuniies in he business communiy, which

hey would oherwise lack access. As he communiy recognizes he goodwilland alruism o he business, he benes o he company will only muliply.

One example o a successul parnership beween he business and educaion-al communiy is he ciy o Durham, Norh Carolina. This ciy was awarded he2007 Communiy Compeiiveness Award, which acknowledges a ciy whoseiniiaives have promoed public and privae secor cooperaion and conrib-ued o educaion and workorce developmen.21 Durham inroduced iniia-

ives such as he Superinendens Business Advisory Council, Carolina SudenTranser Excellence Program, and Durham Technical Colleges Middle CollegeHigh School.22 Alhough he collaboraion exemplied in Durham may no bean exac model o he ype recommended or oher Souhern ciies, i clearlydemonsraes ha here is a vesed ineres or he business communiy in suc-cessul local educaion.

Anoher unding opion is o seek parons and spokespeople o und and pro-moe hese programs. One reason P.A.R.K. is so successul is he presence oKeih Jackson. The involvemen o oher spors gures, celebriies, or prominencommuniy members would only enhance he visibiliy and promoe he successo hese programs. Poenial spokespeople should be eager o be involved be-cause o humaniarian ineres, ax incenives, and a posiive public image. Taxincenives or individuals are based on he individuals income. There are limia-


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ions or donaions, bu en percen o an individuals income may be donaedand ax deducible.23

Colleges and universiies should also have vesed ineress in unding programssuch as P.A.R.K. Marquese McFerguson enered he program wih a 1.9 GPA

and, on a P.A.R.K.-secured scholarship, evenually earned a degree in graphicdesign rom Ouachia Bapis Universiy in Arkansas. Universiies gain hard-working, disadvanaged sudens when hey und a-risk high school sudenssuch as McFerguson. Rober Irby, anoher college graduae, also secured hisuniversiy scholarship hrough P.A.R.K.24 Universiies as well as communiieshave a responsibiliy o promoe educaion a all ages so hey and he saereceive he bes sudens possible.

ConclusionThe Souhern region is comprised o saes and communiies, including hehree documened in his paper, wih disinc and diverse challenges aced byailing school sysems. Implemenaion o independen and adapable aer-school and summer programs similar o P.A.R.K. would allow each ciy or saeo address hese issues in ways unique o heir paricular problems.

Some migh argue ha supplemenal educaion programs already exis across

he Souh, and ha even in Litle Rock where he P.A.R.K program is already inplace, i has no single-handedly solved all o he educaion problems or hecommuniy or come even close or ha mater. I mus be recognized, however,ha P.A.R.K ype programs are a crucial sep in he righ direcion and makean enormous dierence in he lives o each young person ha hey serve. TheP.A.R.K. programs do no expec o solve all o he educaional problems in heSouh, however hey are able o promoe and improve he lives o a-risk su-dens wih whom hey come in conac wih. The unique characerisics o he

P.A.R.K. program, combined wih oher exising and coninuing eors, can helpsrike he aal blow o he crisis o ailing Souhern educaion.

The criical aspec o his recommendaion is adapabiliy. In order or he spe-cic needs o specic communiies o be properly me, he programs mus bedynamic, fexible, and srucured o conorm o and address he problems oeach ciy in which hey are implemened. The P.A.R.K. program has had a re-mendous impac in he inner ciy o Litle Rock, Arkansas, parially because iwas ounded by a Litle Rock naive. Moreover, i is run by Litle Rock residensand unded by local people and businesses ha care abou he communiy.The PARK model depends upon he communiy aking an ineres in he uureo is youh. I is no he goal o his proposal o ransplan P.A.R.K. ino oherciies; is aim is o provide an adapable blueprin ha can be adoped andransormed. Alhough educaion in he Souh is an expansive problem ha will

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require atenion or generaions o come, his will ake he vial rs sep onding a soluion ha will propel he Souh owards a beter uure.

Bibliography

Aer-school Programs Really Do Work. The Park Progress, Winer 2009. htp://www.posiivekids.org/pds/March%2009.pd (accessed March 29. 2009).

Associaed Press, High School Graduaion Raes Plumme below 50% in some U.S.Ciies.1 April 2008; www.associaed press.com (accessed March 29, 2009).

Durham Public Schools is a Naional Model or Grea Parnership wih Businessesand Corporaions. Durham Public Schools. htp://www.dpsnc.ne/communiy/busi-ness/whas-new-in-business-suppor/durham-public-schools-is-a-naional-model-or(accessed March 29, 2009).

Former P.A.R.K. Sudens: Rober Irby. Posiive Amosphere Reaches Kids: P.A.R.K.

www.posiivekids.org/proles/irby.hm (accessed March 29, 2009).Hewes, Rober (CPA), inerview by auhor, Searcy, AR, Marcy 21, 2009.High School Dropou Raes. Child Trends Daabank. htp://www.childrendsdaa-

bank.org/indicaors/1highschooldropou.cm (accessed March 29, 2009).Jackson, Jenny and Joan Lord.Improving ACT and SAT Scores: Making Progress,

Facing Challenges. Souhern Regional Educaion Board, (2007): 7-10. htp://www.sreb.org/main/Goals/Publicaions/07E02_ACT_and_SAT_Tes_Scores.pd (accessed March29, 2009).

Malnuriion Impairs U.S. Childrens Healh, Behavior, LSU AgCener, htp://

www.lsuagcener.com/en/amily_home/amily/childcare/Children_Childcare/Malnuriion+Impairs+US+Childrens+Healh+Behavior+Says+LSU+AgCener+Food+and+Nuriion+Exper.hm (accessed March 29, 2009).

Moody, Kareem. Blue & You Weigh Loss Challenge. The Park Progress, Summer2008. htp://www.posiivekids.org/pds/summer08.pd (accessed March 29. 2009).

Moseley, Jack. Those Shocking U.S. Educaion Saisics. Arkansas News, Augus 11,2005. htp://dev2.arkansasnews.com/?s=Those+shocking+U.S.+educaion+saisics&x=31&y=10 (accessed March 29. 2009).

Naional Cener or Children in Povery, Geography o Low-Income Children and

Families. Repor issued November 2003; www.nccp.org (accessed March 29, 2009).NCHEMS Inormaion Cener or Higher Educaion Policy Making and Analysis,

Public High School Graduaion Raes htp://www.higheredino.org/dbrowser/index.php?submeasure=36&year=2006&level=naion&mode=graph&sae=0 (accessed July 23,2009).

Posiive Amosphere Reaches Kids: P.A.R.K. htp://www.posiivekids.org/ (accessedMarch 29, 2009).

Texas: Sae and Couny Quick Facs, U.S. Census Bureau, htp://quickacs.cen-

sus.gov/qd/saes/48000.hml (accessed March 29, 2009).

FootnotesNCHEMS Inormaion Cener or Higher Educaion Policy Making and Analysis,1.Public High School Graduaion Raes (accessed July 23, 2009).Associaed Press, High School Graduaion Raes Plumme below 50% in some U.S.2.Ciies.1 April 2008; www.associaedpress.com (accessed March 29, 2009).


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Naional Cener or Children in Povery, Geography o Low-Income Children3.and Families. Repor issued November 2003; www.nccp.org (accessed March 29,2009).Jenny Jackson and Joan Lord, Improving ACT and SAT Scores: Making Progress,4.Facing Challenges, Souhern Regional Educaion Board, (2007): 7-10. htp://www.sreb.org/main/Goals/Publicaions/07E02_ACT_and_SAT_Tes_Scores.pd (accessedMarch 29, 2009).Ibid.5.Posiive Amosphere Reaches Kids: P.A.R.K, htp://www.posiivekids.org/ (accessed6.March 29, 2009).NCHEMS Inormaion Cener or Higher Educaion Policy Making and Analysis,7.Public High School Graduaion Raes htp://www.higheredino.org/dbrowser/index.php?submeasure=36&year=2006&level=naion&mode=graph&sae=0 (ac-cessed July 23, 2009).P.A.R.K, htp://www.posiivekids.org.8.High School Dropou Raes, Child Trends Daabank., htp://www.childrendsdaa-9.bank.org/indicaors/1highschooldropou.cm (accessed March 29, 2009).Jack Moseley, Those Shocking U.S. Educaion Saisics,10. Arkansas News, Augus11, 2005, htp://dev2.arkansasnews.com/?s=Those+shocking+U.S.+educaion+saisics&x=31&y=10 (accessed March 29. 2009).P.A.R.K, htp://www.posiivekids.org.11.Aer-school Programs Really Do Work,12. The Park Progress, Winer 2009, htp://www.posiivekids.org/pds/March%2009.pd (accessed March 29. 2009).P.A.R.K, htp://www.posiivekids.org.13.

Ibid14.Ibid15.Texas: Sae and Couny Quick Facs, U.S. Census Bureau, htp://quickacs.cen-16.sus.gov/qd/saes/48000.hml (accessed March 29, 2009).Malnuriion Impairs U.S. Childrens Healh, Behavior, LSU AgCener, htp://17.www.lsuagcener.com/en/amily_home/amily/childcare/Children_Childcare/Malnuriion+Impairs+US+Childrens+Healh+Behavior+Says+LSU+AgCener+Food+and+Nuriion+Exper.hm (accessed March 29, 2009).Kareem Moody, Blue & You Weigh Loss Challenge,18. The Park Progress, Summer2008, htp://www.posiivekids.org/pds/summer08.pd (accessed March 29. 2009).P.A.R.K, htp://www.posiivekids.org.19.Rober Hewes (CPA), inerview by auhor, Searcy, AR, Marcy 21, 2009.20.Durham Public Schools is a Naional Model or Grea Parnership wih Businesses21.and Corporaions, Durham Public Schools, htp://www.dpsnc.ne/communiy/busi-ness/whas-new-in-business-suppor/durham-public-schools-is-a-naional-model-or (accessed March 29, 2009).Durham, NC o Receive Firs Communiy Award rom Chambers Insiue or a22.Compeiive Workorce, U.S. Chamber o Commerce. htp://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2007/sepember/07-158.hm (accessed July 26, 2009).Rober Hewes (CPA), inerview by auhor, Searcy, AR, Marcy 21, 2009.23.Former P.A.R.K. Sudens: Rober Irby, Posiive Amosphere Reaches Kids: P.A.R.K,24.www.posiivekids.org/proles/irby.hm (accessed March 29, 2009).

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Mandatory Impact FeesRocky T. Cole

School?

Executive Summary

Over he pas y years, low-densiy, leaprogging developmencolloquially known as urban sprawlhas become he predominanorm o urban growh in America.Negleced inrasrucure, including deerred roadway mainenance,and overcrowded public schools are boh negaive oucomes associ-aed wih unchecked ouward expansion.Georgia has been ranked as one o he mos sprawling regions in heUnied Saes.Despie he early enacmen o growh managemen legislaion,Georgia has ailed almos enirely o curail sprawl. Inheren weak-nesses in he Georgia Planning Ac, limied unding or Smar Growhiniiaives, and rigid belies in local auonomy coninue o cripple hesaes managemen eors.Mandaory impac ees or new developmen, or one ime ees paidby developers o nance he addiional inrasrucure required (i.e.

roads, schools, and sewer lines), are one way he sae can encour-age more ecien uses o exising inrasrucure, hereby ensuringha uure developmen pays or isel.

What is Urban Sprawl?

Though urban sprawl is easily recognized, i proves much more dicul o de-ne. According o urban planner David Soule, i is low densiy, auo-dependenland developmen aking place on he edges o urban ceners, oen leaprog-ging away rom curren denser developmen nodes.1 Low-densiy develop-men is dened as an overall increase in he number o large homes siuaed onprivaely owned los, accompanied by lower household densiies. Leaproggingdevelopmen, a hallmark o sprawl, describes developmen ha exponeniallymoves away rom exising urban ceners o he peripheries o large meropoli-an areas where land is cheaper by hopping over vacan or semi-developedland.2 Open space disappears in sprawling ciies. Thousands o acres o arm-land are convered ino commercial zones, while campus syle oce parks ap-

pear along arerial roads.3

Georgia, specically he Alana area, is one o he mos sprawling regions inhe Unied Saes. Beween 2000 and 2007, he Alana populaion increasedby 41 percen and a subsequen housing boom increased he number o newhousing unis by 21 percen. Almos all o his growh was low-densiy and oc-

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curred on he peripheries o he Ciy o Alana. Nine o he regions oumoscouniesForsyh, Paulding, Gwinnet, Cowea, Pickens, Walon, Cherokee andBarrowexperienced populaion increases greaer han 50 percen (see Ap-pendix, Figure 1).1 The USA Today Sprawl Index, a measure o sprawl basedon changes in populaion densiies during he 1990s, ranks Alana as he h

mos sprawling ciy in America wih a populaion over one million.5 The RugersCener or Urban Policy Research, using a complex ormula accouning or pop-ulaion densiy, amoun o public space, alernaive modes o ransporaion,ec., ranks Georgia as he 14h mos sprawling sae.6 In a calculaion measuringlevels o sprawl using emporal and geographic change published in he UrbanAairs Review, Alana was assigned a value o 80.65 ou o 100, wih 100 repre-sening absolue sprawling developmen, compared o he naional average o67.97.7 No surprisingly, Alana boass he naions eighh longes average com-

mue ime, wih residens spending an average o 27.1 minues commuing oneway o work. Moreover, 19 percen o Georgians commue more han 45 minuesone way o work, compared o he naional average o 17 percen.8

The Costs of Sprawl

Sprawl places enormous nancial srains on ciies and municipaliies. Since in-rasrucure projecs are usually unded by municipaliies rom propery andsales axes, capial improvemens can only occur so long as ciies raise ad-

equae ax revenue. Sprawling developmen, by all accouns, is more expensivehan compac developmen. I orces communiies o pay or addiional inra-srucurewhich is more expensive because o sprawlwih smaller ax bases.Unable o pay or necessary capial improvemens, ciies inrasrucure allsino disrepair. Schools become overcrowded. Trac congesion is exacerbaed.In shor, sprawling ciies are pressured o pay or more inrasrucure han heycan aord, hereby decreasing he qualiy o lie or everyone.

Inrasrucure CossPerhaps he greaes cos associaed wih sprawl is he burden on requiremensor local inrasrucure. More miles o sewer lines, waer lines, and roads arenecessary o suppor increasing populaions under sprawling scenarios hancompac scenarios. In a 1974 landmark sudy now cied by Georgia and ohersaes9 as heir ocial assessmen o sprawl, he Real Esae Research Corpo-raion esimaed he capial coss o wo hypoheical communiies o 10,000housing unis over a weny year period. Two scenarios, low-densiy sprawl

and high densiy planned developmen, were creaed based on characeris-ics observed in acual developmens. They ound ha communiies wih low-densiy sprawl incurred 74 percen higher capial coss han planned develop-men. Capial expenses or roads and uiliies alone were 120 percen higheror he sprawl scenario, while operaing expenses were a surprising 13 percenhigher.10


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In 2005, senior Brookings Insiue Fellows Rober Burchell and Anhony Downsupdaed The Coss o Sprawl using wo growh scenariossprawl and com-pac growho orecas expeced inrasrucure coss hrough he year 2025.Under he compac growh scenario, ve percen o all people enering hehousing marke were concenraed ino exising urban ceners raher han un-

developed land, and he expeced 52 million new developmen unis were con-sruced wih an expeced 20 percen higher populaion densiy and 10 percenhigher foor area raios. Under he sprawling scenario, growh coninued on iscurren rend. Again inrasrucure coss were signicanly higher under hesprawling scenario. Beween 2000 and 2025, sae governmens would save anesimaed 6.6 percenor a oal o $12.6 billionon waer and sewer inrasruc-ure i growh occurred in a more compac ashion. A oal o 188,305 ewermiles o road would be consruced, saving an esimaed $109.7 billion.11

I should be noed ha Burchells sudy measures only he hypoheical cosso sprawlha is, i does no measure real world increases in per capia inra-srucure coss. However, evidence suggess ha hese coss are accurae orGeorgia. Each year beginning in 2000, he Georgia Municipal Associaion con-ducs a survey o approximaely 500 member ciies o deermine he amouneach expecs o spend on various capial improvemen projecs over a veyear period. In 2003, hese ciies repored needing an esimaed $83 million or

ransporaion improvemens and $21 million or waer/sewer improvemens. For2009, he same ciies repored needing $263 or ransporaion and $386 mil-lion or waer/sewer improvemens (see Appendix, Figure 2). When conrolledor infaion, hese changes represen a 33 percen increase in per capia ex-penses or waer/sewer inrasrucure and a 126 percen increase in per capiaransporaion inrasrucure. While urban developmen may naurally lead osome increased per capia inrasrucure expenses, he observed increases inAlana are indicaive o sprawling growh. I larger numbers o people werepaying or a similar number o miles o road and sewer linesin oher words,i Alana were developing a higher densiiesper capia coss could be ex-peced o eiher decrease or remain consan.12 As hese coss increase seeply,i is sae o atribue some o he increases o lower populaion densiies andoverall greaer demands or inrasrucure.

In mos sprawling areas, increasing pressure o provide inrasrucure decreas-es he qualiy o public service and leads o overall greaer scal decis.13 Whenciies canno provide adequae revenue o und needed capial improvemens,

hey simply ake ou low-ineres loans rom sae auhoriies and engage indeci spending. In Dr. Burchells sudy, scal decis resuling rom sprawlamoun o roughly $4.4 billion annually a he naional level, or an aggregaeo $1.1 billion or Souhern ciies. Decis, however, pose a paricularly diculproblem or Georgia. Since he Georgia Sae governmen and many individual

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ciies have balanced budge amendmens, deci spending is no an opion.Insead, Georgia ciies ace more expendiure pressures relaive o heir scalcapaciy han do oher saes; in oher words, Georgias ciies are pressured opay or more capial improvemens han hey can aord.14 Large scal decisin Georgias sprawling areas hereore ranslae ino negleced inrasrucure,

much o he derimen o he enire communiy.

Deferred Maintenance and School Overcrowding

One angible example o deerred mainenance resuling rom sprawl can beseen in Georgias bridges and roadways. According o he American Socieyo Civil Engineers, 27 percen o Americas bridges are in disrepair. Driving onroads in need o repair coss U.S. mooriss $54 billion a year in exra vehiclerepairs and operaing coss$275 per mooris.15 In Georgia, nearly 20 percen

o all bridges are in disrepair, while driving on aging roads coss Georgiansan esimaed $255 million a year in exra vehicle repairs and operaing coss,or $44 per mooris.16 The Georgia Deparmen o Transporaion (GDOT) canalready poin o a large backlog o necessary repairs which compee wih ohercapial improvemen projecs or unding in he annual GDOT budge. Recenly,150 proposed roadway improvemen projecs were recenly canceled due oinadequae unding.17

Sprawling developmen has also had negaive consequences or Georgiaspublic schools. Facing increasing enrollmen raes, mero Alana counies havebeen orced o expand a breakneck speeds. Because o sprawling, low-densiydevelopmen, he counies have been unable o keep up wih he demand orqualiy educaion, leading o severely overcrowded schools. Beween 1995 and2000, Georgia Sae Universiys Fiscal Research Cener racked school enroll-men raes relaive o ax base increases or he enire sae.18 Their resuls showha, in he 13 counry Alana area, enrollmen raes increased by nearly wo

percen more han ax bases annually. In ac, every couny excep Douglas andForsyh experienced higher annual enrollmen raes han ax base increases(see Appendix, Figures 3 and 4). By comparison, non-sprawling couniesmoso which had posiive growh raesexperienced roughly .10 percen higher axbase increases annually relaive o enrollmen (Appendix, Figure 5). Thus, non-sprawling areas were able o pay or heir new growh, while he sprawling A-lana area schools were le unable o provide adequae educaional aciliies.

Overcrowded schools pose a serious risk o educaional qualiy. As Douglas D.Ready and Valerie E. Lee show in heir sudy o Caliornias school sysems, heopimal size high school or all sudens is around 600-900 sudens.19 Schoolsin Georgias sprawling areas, by comparison, are bursing a he seams wih anaverage size beween 2000-3000 sudens. Moreover, Georgias response oschool overcrowding has ypically been o add porable classrooms. Accord-


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o levy impac ees on capial improvemen projecs o be calculaed on hebasis o levels o service or public aciliies ha are adoped in he municipalor couny comprehensive plan. Impac ees under he legislaion are applicableo exising developmen, as well as he new growh.21

Despie Georgias early enrance ino he growh managemen movemen, heGeorgia Planning Ac has ailed o curail sprawl.22 As he repor o he GrowhSraegies Reassessmen Task Force noed in 1998, he casual observer couldprobably conclude ha land use and developmen paterns during he 10 yearssince adopion o Growh Sraegies have changed litle rom wha was hap-pening beore Growh Sraegies.23 Wih he excepion o genricaion move-mens in selec Alana areas, he same remains rue in 2008.24 Inheren weak-nesses in he Planning Ac, as well as a lack o regional coordinaion in he

sae, coninue o allow sprawl in Georgia. In he words o Cobb Couny Com-missioner and Chairman o he Alana Regional Commission, Sam Olens, ThePlanning Ac has no eeh.25

The welve RDCs which prepare regional comprehensive developmen planslack auhoriy o enorce he implemenaion o hese plans, and consequenly,he plans are miigaed o procedural guidelines conaining no real measuresor direcing or limiing growh. The Planning Ac ails o speciy long-erm

goals or developmen, ciing only a need o assis local governmens o par-icipae in an orderly process or coordinaed and comprehensive planningwhich will develop and promoe he essenial public ineress o he sae andis ciizens.26 Litle addiional unding is provided or plans rending owardSmar Growh (growh aimed a revializing urban ceners), and he phrasesSmar Growh, higher densiy or desirable growh are nowhere o be ound inhe Ac. As he Task Force noed, he sae has provided no guidance as owha ypes o plans or decisions relaed o growh or developmen paternsare preerred.27 In shor, he sae has ailed o develop a pracical soluion orensuring ha municipaliies have he resources hey need o develop adequaeinrasrucure.

Policy Recommendation

Despie Georgias hisory o popular aversion o srong growh managemenprograms, a looming shi in he saes poliical climae may open wide hedoor or increased sae regulaion. Unhappy wih long commue imes andovercrowded schools, Georgians are becoming increasingly aware o sprawlsnegaive consequences.28 The rise o poliical gures opposed o sprawling de-velopmen hins oward a new uure or Alana area residens. Recen amend-mens o he Georgia Planning Ac providing addiional unding o RegionalDevelopmen Ceners and a ballo iniiaive o creae Inrasrucure Develop-men Disrics sugges ha municipaliies are willing o urher engage in re-


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and expec absolue compliance. The legislaure should hereore include inhe proposed amendmen a clause linking qualicaions or major sae gransand low-ineres loans o compliance wih he Impac Fee Ac. I municipaliiesreuse o levy ees when i is clear hey canno pay or necessary inrasrucure,as dened by O.C.G.A. 36-71-2, unding rom GEFA and GDOT should be wih-

held unil municipaliies comply.

Benefits

Mandaory impac ees as an alernaive mehod or unding capial improve-mens would enail grea benes or Georgias ciies. Firs and oremos, re-quiring municipaliies o levy impac ees insead o deerring mainenance ordivering general unds will boh limi sprawling developmen and ensure hauure growh in Georgia pays or isel. Since he addiional coss o he impac

ees will be passed along o consumers in he orm o higher housing prices,mandaory impac ees can be seen as a ax on sprawling developmen. I con-sumers ruly wish o enjoy he benes o sprawling developmen, hey will beable o do so, bu will simply pay more o engage in a sprawling liesyle. De-velopers, on he oher hand, will recognize ha i hey raise housing prices oomuch oo quickly, hey risk lowering demand and hereby limiing heir pros.Accordingly, hey will nd more ecien uses or exising inrasrucure in ordero avoid paying exorbian impac ees. In he end, Georgia ciies can expec

he higher housing prices o be more han ose by rms nding more ecienuses o exising inrasrucure. The risk ha housing prices will rise seeply andlimi access o housing markes is hereore limied.

Anoher bene o mandaing impac ees is ha hey would lower nancial andpoliical pressure on municipaliies o expand basic inrasrucure requiremensand ocus on long-erm developmen. Since, local governmens receive a major-iy o heir unding rom propery and sales axes, more developmen ranslaes

ino more revenue. Georgia has a large number o local governmens and oneo he mos ragmened poliical sysems in he counry. As Burchell noes, hesesprawling condiions creae a never-ending upward spiral o coss which doesno end once munici

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