The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Nov. 16, 2010: 

Did the Twin Cities get more beautiful in the past couple of years?

That's what you might conclude from the results of a three-year survey of Twin Cities residents as part of a study funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation on what makes people love and feel passionate about their hometowns.

Findings of the study released Monday found that the physical beauty of a community, including good parks and green spaces, was one of the most important factors that makes residents feel loyal. It's more important than jobs or public safety or good community leaders, according to the study.

And Twin Cities residents apparently think the community is pretty good-looking and getting better. About two-thirds gave high marks to the area's parks, playgrounds and trails, up from 56 percent in a 2008 survey. Nearly half said they thought highly of the area's beauty and physical setting, up from 37 percent in 2008.

But loyalty also is closely tied to openness to different types of people, and there, a survey of more than 1,000 area residents wasn't so positive.
 

More at TwinCities.com: http://www.twincities.com/ci_16622981?nclick_check=1