Orange County NC Website
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B. Trends <br />♦ Growing Gap in Wealth and Income <br />There is a striking gap in wealth and income within Orange County. There is a large income <br />split with high paying professional jobs at one end, and low paying service jobs at the other <br />without many mid -wage jobs in- between, resulting in lack of a strong middle class in the <br />County. <br />♦ Loss of Community <br />Loss of a sense of community involves many issues and factors including issues of the long <br />history of the County, racial divisions, geographic divisions along urban/rural lines, and the <br />sense of a lack of government representation in County government. These lead to feelings of <br />alienation and voter apathy among some residents. <br />♦ Availability and Cost of Health Care <br />The lack of affordable, available health care for everyone within the County is a major factor <br />affecting quality of life for many citizens. It is estimated that over 14% of citizens in the <br />County are without health insurance. <br />♦ Increasing Natural Resource Consumption <br />The increase of natural resource consumption is resulting in irreparable loss of biodiversity, <br />natural areas, and valuable landscapes, as populations grow and sprawl occurs (i.e. an <br />increased per capita consumption of land). Likewise total and per capita consumption of water <br />and energy are increasing. <br />♦ Changing Transportation Patterns <br />There is a growing awareness that building more roads is not always the answer to traffic <br />congestion. The old, nationwide railroad system is nearly lost, but there is increasing interest <br />in development of mass transit, including light rail, and other alternative transportation systems <br />such as bikeways and pedestrian ways. <br />♦ Advances in Technology <br />The trend of advancing technology has both positive and negative impacts. Technology can <br />assist us in reaching our goals, but it can also lead to an over - reliance on technological <br />solutions to provide quick fixes to more fundamental problems. <br />♦ Increasing Demand on Schools <br />There is an increasing demand on schools to do more than they used to do, i.e. to address <br />academics, special needs, diverse cultures, and lacks in stable home environments. <br />K3 <br />