The Atlanta Paradox. Edited by David L. Sjoquist. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2000. Pp. 300. $34.95.

Abstract

This book is the third volume (of a proposed four) in the Russell Sage Foundation's Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality. The paradox mentioned in the title refers to Atlanta's seemingly contradictory position as both a symbol of Sunbelt South racial and economic progress and a pit of persistent poverty. Yet for all the apparent progress of the post–World War II years, Atlanta in the 1990s remained a highly segregated city and its poverty rate ranked as the fifth highest in the nation. This is “the Atlanta paradox” that the authors set out to try and explain. The chief sources of data for this book, as with other volumes in the series, are household and employers surveys conducted between 1992 and 1994 as part of the Multi-City Study. A useful appendix summarizes the survey methodology (pp. 9–12). The surveys themselves will surely become a useful resource for other scholars.