Climate Vulnerability Analysis
Dekalb county assets
abcd: Asset-Based community development
When considering solutions for a community, it is important to first analyze its valuable advantages that the community can improve and expand. Through this method, individual community members can take part in making decisions based on their real concerns instead of having another party offering quick-fixes to issues that are often complicated and interconnected. This is called asset-based community development, or ABCD (Graham, 2019). Below, we have highlighted what we think are DeKalb County's most important assets that are vital to the community.
Table of contents
Socioeconomic assets
Local Schools and Hospitals (Emory)
Global Growers
EMBARC
DeKalb County Government Transportation Reports
DeKalb County Government Public Health Reports
Tourism
Movie Industry
Environmental assets
ReLeaf DeKalb
FEMA Buyout Plan
South River Watershed Alliance
Green Energy Facility at Seminole Road Landfill
Public communications-related assets
Laura Diez, our Partner
Board of Commissioners
Permits, Plan Review and Inspections Page
DeKalb History Center
DeKalb Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative
Socioeconomic assets
There are a variety of socio-economic assets in DeKalb County whether they are local schools and hospitals engaging with the community, local agricultural and community farm organizations, county and state transportation and public health data and reports, and local tourism and movie industries. Each of these assets offers unique perspectives and insight in a variety of sectors and industries within the county. Through engagement and partnership with these organizations as well as within the communities they are serving, advancements can be made in addressing local climate vulnerabilities.
Local Schools and Hospitals (Emory)
Local universities and schools are a valuable asset to the county because they support the development for higher education and provide students with the opportunity to seek a higher degree. Among the biggest universities/schools located in DeKalb are Emory University, Strayer University, and Georgia Piedmont College. Emory University has been awarded several recognitions for their civic and community engagement projects, and they have created several programs to involve their students with the community such as Volunteer Emory and Emory Center for Advancing Non-Violence. The link to this site is the following: http://community.emory.edu/
Additionally, the health industry is a big driver for the economy as it provides a lot of job opportunities in the health industry. DeKalb county houses the following medical institutions: Children Healthcare at Egleston Hospital, Decatur (Atlanta) VA, DeKalb Medical Centers, Emory University Hospital, and Wesley Woods Geriatric. Specifically, Emory Hospital has a page on their website dedicated to the community impacts they provide such as charitable care, community partnerships, and urgent care centers. More on these programs can be found here: https://www.emoryhealthcare.org/about/community-impact1.html
Global Growers
Global Growers Network (GGN) is a partnership with families from all backgrounds allowing them to grow fresh food from one of the eight farm and garden sites GGN owns. In this way, families are able to keep their food grown or even sell it to local markets in order to make a profitable living for themselves. The mission of GGN is to “... build and sustain networks of growers, land, resources, and markets in order to create a more equitable food system that is driven by cultural diversity, inclusive economies, and regenerative agriculture practices” (Global Growers, 2021). Since the beginning of this project, GGN has helped many refugee families rebuild their lives and has offered them the opportunity to cultivate familiar foods across their 22 acres of land they have in the Atlanta area. More information about their community involvements, and impacts can be found in the link below.
https://www.globalgrowers.org/our-impact
EMBARC (Education, Market, Botanicals, Agriculture, Recreational Center) Community Youth Farm
The EMBARC (Education, Market, Botanicals, Agriculture, Recreational Center) Community Youth Farm is a project in DeKalb county that will be a community hub that has access to parks, educational centers, and a place to grow food. The Youth farm will be 40 acres on the site that was formerly the Bransby Outdoor YMCA at Rick Chapel in Lithonia, Georgia. The mission of EMBARC is to “cultivate and nurture a community hub for youth to grow food, engage in entrepreneurship and sustain lasting skills that will enhance their quality of life and the health of DeKalb County” (EMBARC Community Youth Farm, 2021). Once the project is completed, it will serve as an educational space offering community and health benefits as well as provide healthy food to the county where there is a high percentage of food deserts. To learn more, you can either visit our EMBARC page here or go directly to EMBARC's website through this link: http://www.embarcyouthfarm.org
DeKalb County Government Transportation Reports
Through our research and analysis, DeKalb County Government Reports have been a valuable asset in helping our team learn more information about existing conditions and data in the county. The DeKalb County Public Works - Transportation Division has been a great resource, especially through their transportation plans and reports. The link to their general website can be found here: https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/transportation/public-works-transportation-division.
Looking further into their different reports, the 2014 Transportation Plan has been helpful in providing information about the existing conditions including the county transportation system, transit system, bicycle network, and pedestrian network. The plan can be found here: http://www.dekalbtransportationplan2014.com/documents/DeKalb%20CTP%20Existing%20Needs%20Report%20-%20Report%20-%20June%202014.pdf.
There have additionally been other transportation plans by the county that have been valuable to analyze. The 2018 DeKalb County Transit Master Plan Baseline Condition Assessment of Transit Needs and Markets (http://www.dekalbtransitmasterplan.com/assets/downloads/Baseline_Condition_Report.pdf) assesses mobility challenges and opportunities for future transit enhancements. The report was created in collaboration with the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC; more information at https://atlantaregional.org/). The 2019 Final DeKalb County Transit Master Plan, found in this link, https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/DeKalb%20TMP%20Final%20Report_FINAL.PDF, is an extension of the previous report and further evaluates potential investment and planning opportunities.
DeKalb County Government Public Health Reports
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH; https://dph.georgia.gov/) has an Online Analytical Statistical Information System (OASIS) that has tools for public health and public policy data analysis. Through this website, which can be found in this link, https://oasis.state.ga.us/, there are extensions to different tools that house public health information for the state. This open-access tool allows for anyone to have access to annual data and reports. Our team used this data to help to inform Geographic Information System (GIS) maps for cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and cancers.
Tourism
DeKalb county is home to many attractions such as the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Stone Mountain Park, Arabia Mountain, and the David J. Sencer CDC Museum. Among these attractions that tourists can visit, DeKalb county also offers shopping malls, dining establishments, music entertainment, and arts and culture entertainments (DeKalb Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2021). An extensive list of things to do while you stay in the county can be found here: https://discoverdekalb.com/things-to-do-events/. It is very important to note that tourism is a huge asset because it boosts the economy by attracting tourists and residents alike.
Movie Industry
The film and movie industries in DeKalb county have grown over the last couple of years and is currently a large provider for jobs for the county and the state. This is a huge driver for the economy which is why it is an asset working in favor of DeKalb county.
environmental assets
DeKalb county has a variety of environmental issues facing the county. In order to resolve these issues, DeKalb county government and other groups in the area have made assets that can be utilized in developing the sustainability of the county, which includes overcoming these issues.
ReLeaf DeKalb
The DeKalb County Department of Planning and Sustainability has partnered with Trees Atlanta to develop the ReLeaf DeKalb program. This initiative gives homeowners the option to pay a $25.00 fee to have a tree planted in their front yard. Within the first two years DeKalb plans to have 400 trees planted. The addition of trees in urban and suburban regions combats flooding, extracts certain greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, minimizes the urban heat island effect, and manages stormwater runoff. ReLeaf DeKalb gives residents of the county the opportunity to improve upon their own yards while diminishing environmental risks by simply planting more trees. More can be found by visiting this link: https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/news/dekalb-announces-releaf-dekalb-tree-planting-program
FEMA Buyout Plan
The FEMA Buyout Plan (https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/roads-drainage/hazard-mitigation) is a program to eliminate vulnerabilities of homes in flood plains. FEMA assists the county in purchasing vulnerable homes in flood plains at market value. DeKalb county pays 25% of the value and FEMA pays 75% using federal funds. The owners can choose to sell to FEMA on a voluntary basis. Buying the houses at market value allows the owner to not be disenfranchised by selling their home to protect their community. These houses are then destroyed or physically removed from the land, returning the plot back to greenspace. The community then upkeeps the land as greenspace, which reduces the risk of flooding to the houses around it.
South River Watershed Alliance
The South River, running across the south part of DeKalb, is one of the most endangered rivers in America. The South River Watershed Alliance is dedicated to protect the river by spreading awareness, advocating for its protection, and managing the river and its protection. One of the ways the group is spreading awareness is by increasing recreation access on the river. This introduces people from its communities to the river and increases community awareness of the river. Another way is by educating the community and Georgia Environmental Protection Division that water is a vital resource, both to the environment and to people. With many community and national partners, such as DeKalb county and Microsoft, the South River Watershed Alliance is making waves to protect the South River. To learn more, visit this link: https://www.southriverga.org/
Green Energy Facility at Seminole Road Landfill
At Seminole Road Landfill, DeKalb County’s government owned landfill, a green energy facility opened in 2006. This facility produces energy by capturing methane produced by the landfill and converts it into electricity. This electricity is then sold to Georgia power and the money goes back to the costs of the facility. The energy is capable of powering 3,000 houses annually. Additionally the amount of methane prevented from reaching the atmosphere is equal to 3,300 vehicles annual emissions. This facility also converts methane in compressed natural gas which is then used by the government and sold to the public. More about the green energy facility can be found by clicking this link: https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/sanitation/energy
Public Communications-related assets
Public communications is an important aspect within any community. A strong public communications branch should not only keep the community informed about breaking news, but should also provide them with historical archives and information relevant to social issues that continue today. It can also serve as a reflection of community engagement and government trust. In the next few paragraphs, we will provide a brief summary on some of the many resources that DeKalb County makes readily available to the public.
Laura Diez, former DeKalb County Sustainability Coordinator and Climate Communicator
As a former member of the DeKalb County government, Laura Diez has extensive knowledge on the current political structure of DeKalb. Her expertise was extremely useful when putting together the historical and political data of DeKalb, especially in regards to the Chief Executive Officer, whose specific roles in the government we were not made aware of until her presentation to our team members. Her presentation can be found in this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hMVNtBOh06aAyZQhxP5fhUtm_TIas9pQ. In addition, more information about her and her linked-in can be found here.
Board of Commissioners
While the Board of Commissioners stand as assets themselves, each easily contactable and available through email from the county website, the DeKalb Board of Commissioners website describes in depth the role of the commissioners and how their leaderships are split among the 7 districts in the county. Here, our team learned about the 5 districts and 2 super districts of DeKalb, as well as who is responsible for leading each district. The information on the website, which can be found through the following link, is well presented and can be easily understood by anyone wanting to learn more about the structure of DeKalb county, making it a valuable asset to the citizens of the county. https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/board-commissioners/board-commissioners
Permits, Plan Review and Inspections Page
Another DeKalb website that is extremely helpful to the public is their Permits, Plan Review and Inspections Page (https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/planning-and-sustainability/permits-plan-review-inspections). Here, web visitors can learn all about the kinds of permits they would need in DeKalb County. These include both residential and business related permits, so whether you are looking to build an additional deck on your property or apply for a business location, all the information you need will be located on this website. The website also provides links to any applications needed.
DeKalb History Center
The DeKalb History Center is a valuable facility in DeKalb where citizens can take historic tours around the courthouse and square, participate in educational events, and even host events while learning about the history of DeKalb County. This makes it a great socio-economic asset because of its availability and affordability to all members of DeKalb. Regarding public communications, however, we also found their website to be extremely helpful in terms of relaying information to the public. Not only is their website useful for buying tickets and planning a visit to the History Center, but it also provides historical information anyone can access, which we referenced when researching data for our report. Information like the origins of DeKalb County, its most active industries from the time of its foundation in the early 1800's, its political and racial struggles, and other important historical events can all be found in the website. A link to the DeKalb History Center's website can be found here: https://dekalbhistory.org/exhibits-dekalb-history-center-museum/dekalb-county-history/
DeKalb Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative
The DeKalb Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative is an amazing program aimed at improving the quality of life within DeKalb neighborhoods by providing the opportunity for communities to work with organizations and institutions interested in collaborating with DeKalb. The county has identified 7 areas eligible to receive resources and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which include Clarkston, Columbia, Cross Keys, Lithonia, McNair, Stone Mountain and Towers. While this is an incredible initiative for members of each of these communities to receive in-person feedback and recommendations from organizations that actively visit and communicate with residents of these areas, the DeKalb Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative website also provides multiple detailed maps on ArcGIS online for different social indicators of various areas of the county like unemployment, household composition, and many more. In general, this is a great asset related to public communications because it allows transparency between DeKalb residents and the DeKalb government, in turn creating more trust within the community. This was also extremely useful to the Public Communications team during our data-gathering and research on these social indicators. More information can be found by clicking this link: https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/community-development/dekalb-sustainable-neighborhood-initiative-dsni