MACON, GA. (Sept. 29, 2009) – A Gallup study of Macon and 25 other U.S. communities has found that the worst economic crisis in decades is not a key factor in residents’ passion and loyalty for their community.
“While the pain from the recession is deep, other factors far outweigh economics when it comes to determining how emotionally attached people are to their communities,” said Warren Wright, managing partner for Gallup, which conducted the study with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The study pinpointed three main factors that emotionally attach residents to Macon: social offerings (fun places to gather), openness (how welcoming a place is) and aesthetics (an area’s physical beauty and green spaces).
Aesthetics was found to be a community strength. However, the study also determined that residents felt social offerings (especially the nightlife), and openness, (particularly to young, college graduates), need improvement in order to encourage resident attachment to the area.
The recently launched, Knight-funded initiative to revitalize College Hill aims to improve all three areas by giving the neighborhood a sense of place, sprucing up its parks and public spaces and enhancing the arts and entertainment scene, among other priorities, said Beverly Blake, Macon program director for Knight Foundation.
“We want to encourage a renaissance in College Hill and Macon that will ultimately make residents – including the student we hope will make the area their home – feel more connected to the community which in turn we are learning through this study may be a factor in our future economic growth,” Blake said.
While the current economic crisis doesn’t seem to make a difference in residents’ love for their community, the study found that positive feelings do have a connection to local GDP growth over a longer-term period.
The Soul of the Community study was designed to explore this connection between economic growth and residents’ emotional attachment to their community. The latest results suggest a significant correlation between the two.
Within a smaller microcosm, such as a company, Gallup has been able to show that increasing employees’ emotional connection to their company leads to improved financial performance of the organization. Researchers continue to explore if the emotional connection to the place where one lives drives economic growth for these communities in a similar way.
“The findings are particularly important in a globalized economy made more competitive by the economic crisis,” said Paula Ellis, Knight Foundation’s vice president for strategic initiatives. “Local leaders, urban planners and residents can use the study’s results to better understand their community.
“We hope that the information helps places like Macon fight for the innovative, creative and productive talent needed to build healthy communities.”
The communities surveyed vary in population size, economic levels and how urban or rural they are. Gallup randomly surveyed a representative sample of more than 10,000 adults from Feb. 17 to April 25, 2009, by phone.
The following communities were included in the survey: Aberdeen, S.D., Akron, Ohio, Biloxi, Miss., Boulder, Colo., Bradenton, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., Columbia, S.C., Columbus, Ga., Detroit, Mich., Duluth, Minn., Fort Wayne, Ind., Gary, Ind., Grand Forks, N.D., Lexington, Ky., Long Beach, Calif., Macon, Ga., Miami, Fla., Milledgeville, Ga., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Palm Beach, Fla., Philadelphia, Pa., San Jose, Calif., St. Paul, Minn., State College, Pa., Tallahassee, Fla., Wichita, Kan.
For complete survey findings on Macon, visit www.soulofthecommunity.org.
Track the conversation on Twitter with the tag #SOTC09 and Knight Foundation at twitter.com/knightfdn.
About Gallup
Gallup has studied human nature and behavior for more than 70 years. Gallup’s reputation for delivering relevant, timely, and visionary research on what people around the world think and feel is the cornerstone of the organization. Gallup employs many of the world’s leading scientists in management, economics, psychology, and sociology, and our consultants assist leaders in identifying and monitoring behavioral economic indicators worldwide. Gallup’s 2,000 professionals deliver services at client organizations, through the Web, at Gallup University’s campuses, and in 40 offices around the world.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote community engagement and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.