What is important in community development : a survey of what people think is important in redeveloping neighborhoods

Abstract

This study survived 25 people in four different inner city neighborhoods that are currently undergoing redevelopment. The residents were asked what they thought was important in a neighborhood, what they thought was good in their neighborhood and if they plan on staying what aspects of their neighborhood was important in making that decision. The survey was a Likert scale, with the resident asked to rate the same neighborhood element from 1 ‐ not important or poor, to 5 ‐ very important or excellent in each of the three questions. This enabled a variety of statistical analysis to be used. The surveys from the four different neighborhoods were combined for the final analysis. The survey found that safety and security, home value, and cleanliness were considered the most important elements a neighborhood could have. This is a fairly good outcome for those trying to redevelop inner city neighborhoods. Safety and security, and cleanliness can be directly addressed. Home value is more difficult. It is influenced by a large number of variables most of which can be addressed with established programs.