Author
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STRICKLAND, EARLINE - ALCORN STATE UNIV |
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Submitted to: Nutrition and Health Status in the Lower Mississippi Delta of AR, LA, & MS
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The three states that comprise the Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, have a large share of their land area in the Alluvial Plain, or Delta. The region is largely rural and agricultural, and includes the most fertile agricultural land in the nation. The low-lying Delta, like river deltas everywhere, is subject to recurrent flooding. Agriculture is important to the economy of all three states. Percent of the state devoted to agriculture is 43.2, 28.1, and 35.4 for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, respectively. Based on 1990 Census data: 1) The mean number of occupied housing units per county or parish in the Lower Mississippi Delta counties/parishes of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are 11,952, 23,308, and 10,425, respectively; 2) Almost two-thirds of the housing units are owner- occupied, while about one-third are rented; 3) Twenty-four percent of the owner-occupied housing units in the Delta area are owned and occupied by African-Americans; 4) Almost all dwelling units have complete plumbing facilities; 5) Public and private water systems are the main sources of water for 71.1 percent of the housing units; 6) Sewage disposal systems are public sewer systems for 71 percent of the housing units; 7) Telephone service is present in 91 percent of housing units occupied by individuals 15 to 64 years of age in the Delta; and, 8) Of the occupied housing units with householders between the ages of 15 and 65 years, 68 percent had one or more vehicles. Total reported crime, violent crime, and property crime per-capita is lower in the Lower Mississippi Delta than national averages. |
