09 December 2010

What Attaches People to their Communities?

What makes a community a desirable place to live? 
What draws people to stake their future in it? 
Are communities with more attached residents better off?

The Knight Soul of the Community project started in 2008 with these questions in mind.  Over 3 years they interviewed close to 43,000 people in 26 communities in the United States.  The study found that three main qualities attach people to place:

  1. Social offerings, such as entertainment venues and places to meet, 
  2. Openness (how welcoming a place is) 
  3.  Aesthetics (its physical beauty and green spaces).
What is it that draws you to your community?

1 comment:

A to Zen said...

I think those three pretty much work for me. Also, the school system was a big motivation for my husband and I when we moved to where we now live. Our son was about to start school and we wanted a good one.