What Attaches People to Their Communities?
In a globalized world, where cities are competing for innovative and productive workers, leaders need to find ways to attract and keep talent. Prosperity depends on it.
The Soul of the Community study offers new insights on the issue, by exploring what draws people to a community - and what makes them want to put down roots and build a life. Conducted by Gallup in 26 communities and funded the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the study probes the emotional factors that bind people to place.
An area’s physical beauty, opportunities for socializing and its openness to all people provide the emotional glue that keeps residents happily entrenched, the study has found.
Yet the survey also delves deeper, to explore whether communities with more attached residents are better off. So far, two years of results have found a significant relationship between people’s passion and loyalty for their community and local economic growth. Researchers will examine this connection further in 2010.
Today, civic leaders and residents can start to use this information to make decisions that will influence residents’ feelings and help communities thrive.
Find out more about what makes your community tick.
» Explore more overall findings from the study
» Explore findings by community
| Aberdeen, S.D. |
Duluth, Minn. |
Myrtle Beach, S.C. |
| Akron, Ohio |
Fort Wayne, Ind. |
Palm Beach, Fla. |
| Biloxi, Miss. |
Gary, Ind. |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Boulder, Colo. |
Grand Forks, N.D. |
San Jose, Calif. |
| Bradenton, Fla. |
Lexington, Ky. |
St. Paul, Minn. |
| Charlotte, N.C. |
Long Beach, Calif. |
State College, Pa. |
| Columbia, S.C. |
Macon, Ga. |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
| Columbus, Ga. |
Miami, Fla. |
Wichita, Kan. |
| Detroit, Mich. |
Milledgeville, Ga. |
|
Latest from the Blog
Shortly after the 2009 results from our Soul of the Community study were released, the Center for the Future of Arizona released a Gallup study of community attachment in Arizona that built on our report's findings. The report, titled "The Arizona We Want," echoed our finding that the three things that do the most to [...]
Matt Thompson is Knight Foundation's Interim Online Community Manager. He edits the Soul of the Community blog. Image courtesy of Pink Sherbet Photography on Flickr. Over the past two years, we've asked almost 28,000 people from all over the U.S. how they feel about their communities. Are they satisfied with where they live? Would they [...]
In late February, Knight Foundation representatives met with Philadelphia's mayor, Michael Nutter, and community leaders to discuss what drives peoples attachments to their community. Phillies fans celebrate victory during a parade on Broad Street in downtown Philadelphia in November 2008. Creative Commons photo by Flickr member SnakeManRob. Katherine Loflin, lead consultant for Knight Foundation's Soul [...]
At MSN's Real Estate site, MarketWatch's Amy Houk writes: People like where they live for any number of reasons, but there are several standout qualities that ignite residents' passion for their communities — and how the area is dealing with the recession isn't one of them, according to a report released recently by Gallup and [...]
Meredith Hector, Knight's program director in Bradenton, wrote an op-ed that was published in the Bradenton Herald this morning. Here's a taste: Soul of the Community is a study of perceptions. Unlike the latest unemployment figures, we can change what people think and how they feel. That is why we can be experiencing one of [...]
In addition to publishing thoughts from our program directors in the 26 Knight communities, we’re also reaching out to other local civic leaders. These remarks come from an email interview with Johnette Isham, Executive Director of Realize Bradenton. What jumped out at you from the results of the study? WOW, the Soul of the Community [...]
