City Council Agenda and Packet 2019 12 03

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City of Louisville Citizen Survey June 2016 Community Characteristics A wide variety of characteristics contribute to how residents view and experience their community. In the Louisville survey, respondents were asked to evaluate the quality of 18 specific characteristics of their city. Overall, residents gave high marks to many of the 18 characteristics of Louisville. At least 9 in 10 respondents rated the overall image or reputation of Louisville (96%), ease of walking (91%), quality of overall natural environment (90%) and Louisville's overall appearance (90%) as excellent or good (see the table on the following page.) Additionally, 8 in 10 highly rated opportunities to participate in special events, the sense of community, recreational opportunities, opportunities to participate in community matters and ease of car travel in the city. Two-thirds or more evaluated opportunities to attend cultural activities, traffic flow and openness and acceptance of the community as excellent or good and less than 6 in 10 awarded high marks to shopping opportunities (58%), variety of housing options (42%), employment opportunities (41%) and availability of affordable quality housing (17%). About half of the ratings for community characteristics were similar to those given in 2012; however, ratings for recreational opportunities, ease of car travel, openness and acceptance of the community, traffic flow on major streets, ease of bus travel, variety of housing options and availability of affordable quality housing were lower in 2016 compared to 2012. Positive evaluations for opportunities to participate in community matters increased from 2012 to 2016. At least one-third of respondents selected "don't know" when rating the quality of employment opportunities and ease of bus travel (see Appendix A: Complete Set of Frequencies for a full set of responses, including "don't know"). Most ratings for community characteristics were much higher when compared to the national and Front Range benchmarks. Evaluations of shopping opportunities were similar to communities across the nation as well as the Front Range and ratings for the variety of housing options and availability of affordable quality housing were much lower than jurisdictions elsewhere in the country and the Front Range (see Appendix D: Benchmark Comparisons). Younger respondents (18-34) were more likely to give excellent or good ratings to shopping opportunities and ease of car travel than older residents. Middle-aged residents (35-54) tended to give lower quality evaluations to shopping opportunities, the variety of housing options and ease of bus travel in Louisville. Renters were more likely than homeowners to give positive assessments to ease of bus travel. Overall, those living in detached housing units tended to give higher marks to most community characteristics than did those living in attached units. Residents from Ward 2 were more likely to give excellent or good assessments to the sense of community, ease of bicycle travel and ease of walking in the city than were those from other wards (see Appendix B: Comparison of Responses by Respondent Demographics). Report of Results Prepared by National Research Center, Inc. 8 36