Modeling Spatial Differences in Population Densities: Whites and Blacks in Atlanta, 1990-2000

In this paper, the natural-logarithm cubic-spline function approach is applied to estimate population densities for the total population and White and Black population throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area as well as in four compass directions for 1990 and 2000. To more clearly depict the spatial differences in population densities, entropy and contour mapping are also used. There is marked segregation between Whites and Blacks in Atlanta, and total population densities are strikingly different between Whites and Blacks in varying directions from the center of the city.