Soul of the Northwest Corridor Presentation

Soul of the Northwest Corridor Dr. Katherine Loflin JCSU Senior Research Fellow, Soul of the Northwest Corridor Lead Consultant, National Soul of the Community The Soul of the Northwest Corridor Initiative is being coordinated by the Center for Applied Leadership and Community Development and was made possible by funding from the Office of the President and Smith Institute for Applied Research.

Survey Methodology • Survey conducted by Gallup in Charlotte’s Northwest Corridor, defined by JCSU as ZIP codes 28208 and 28216 • Telephone interview with 1,004 randomly identified adults aged 18+ • Interviewing conducted in December 2010 • Data were weighted to reflect the adult population by age, gender, race and ethnicity.

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Community Attachment Groups Attachment Mean:

3.68

3.70

3.57

Attached

Neutral

Not Attached

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Ranking of Attachment Drivers NWC Charlotte Knight Openness

1

1

1

Social Offerings

2

2

2

Aesthetics

3

3

3

Safety

4

8

8

Leadership

5

5

6

Basic Services

6

6

5

Economy

7

7

7

Education

8

4

4

Social Capital

9

9

9

10

10

10

Involvement

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Community Attachment

Strengths-Weaknesses Opportunity Map 0.70

Social Offerings-­NWC

0.60

Influence on Attachment

Strength

Critical Opportunity

NWC Charlotte

Openness-­NWC

Aesthetics-­NWC Social Offerings-­CHAR

0.50

Safety-­NWC

Leadership-­NWC 0.40

Economy-­NWC Leadership-­CHAR 0.30

Aesthetics-­CHAR Openness-­CHAR Education-­CHAR Basic Services-­NWC Education-­NWC

Basic Service-­CHAR

Economy-­CHAR Social Capital-­NWC

0.20

Safety-­CHAR

Social Capital-­CHAR Involvement-­CHAR

0.10

Involvement-­NWC 0.00 1.30

1.40

1.50

1.60

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

1.70

1.80

Performance

1.90

2.00

2.10

2.20

2.30

2.40

Openness How welcoming the community is to different types of people.

NA NA

Community is a good place to live for‌ **Results for question not included in overall domain score.

NA = Not asked

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Social Offerings The opportunities for positive social interaction in the community.

*Question wording was different in Knight survey; results are not directly comparable. **Results for question not included in overall domain score.

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Aesthetics The natural and created beauty of a place.

The physical beauty and availability of parks and green spaces for residents.

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Demographic Profiles of Attachment in NW Corridor More likely to be attached:

Less likely to be attached:

• 65 years of age or older • High school education or less • Divorced and widowed • Retired residents • Long-term residents (20+ years in community)

• • • • •

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

18-34 years of age College graduates Single and married Full-time employees New residents (5 years or less)

Comparing Northwest Corridor & Charlotte MSA-Attachment • Resident attachment is nearly identical in NWC and Charlotte MSA -- higher percentage of attached residents in the NWC • Optimism and satisfaction is higher in NWC than Charlotte MSA • The top 3 attachment drivers are the same for the NWC and the Charlotte MSA, but matter even more in NWC • In NWC, education systems are less important to attaching residents than in the Charlotte MSA, but safety is much more important in NWC to attaching residents

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Comparing Northwest Corridor & Charlotte MSA-Attachment • In NWC openness is a strength, in Charlotte MSA it’s a challenge • In NWC social offerings is a challenge, in Charlotte MSA it’s a strength • Although still a strength of NWC, aesthetics is rated much lower in NWC than in Charlotte MSA

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Comparing Northwest Corridor & Charlotte MSA-Demographics • In NWC, 18-34s least attached age group by far, in Charlotte MSA, edge out as most attached age group • In NWC, young talent perceived as least welcome group, in Charlotte they are perceived as second least welcome group

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Life Evaluation: Why Residents Expect Better Future Main reason life will be better in the future

Note: Only most frequently mentioned categories shown.

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Life Evaluation: Why Residents Expect Worse Future Main reason life will be worse in the future

Note: Only most frequently mentioned categories shown.

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Neighborhood: Why Residents Expect Better Future Main reason neighborhood will be better in the future

Note: Only most frequently mentioned categories shown.

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Neighborhood: Why Residents Expect Worse Future Main reason neighborhood will be worse in the future

Note: Only most frequently mentioned categories shown.

Soul of the Northwest Corridor

Next Steps • Questions, reactions and conversations • Apply the findings for local action (worksheet) • Investigate secondary research questions (starter list)

Soul of the Northwest Corridor