Community Impact – Page 26 – Knight Foundation

Cities face an uncertain future in the wake of Covid-19. Some predict a new wave of urban flight as public health, employment and affordability challenges intersect with an upsurge in remote work and connectivity that allows for more mobility. A recent Harris poll revealed that 39% of city-dwellers are currently considering moving to a less dense community. Others say the crisis will spur a reimagination of social infrastructure and urban life together as innovative leaders start to look ahead, become more nimble and revisit city plans to build back better, more resilient communities. 

As the pandemic causes us to evaluate where and how we live, understanding what connects people to place is more important than ever. But what exactly generates a real attachment to the community over the long term? What provides the stickiness or emotional and practical commitment to stay rooted in a community over time?

A landmark Knight Foundation report produced by Urban Institute surveyed over 11,000 Americans to explore this very topic, developing a rich and authoritative dataset on what drives community attachment across a diverse set of metro areas and demographic groups. The study reveals that the features of city life that most fuel attachment are essentially social in nature – such as cultural and recreational spaces – but enjoying a sense of public safety is a driver as well.  Key findings shed light on why people stay in a city, and what cities can do to strengthen ties between residents and their local communities. Of the dozen urban amenities explored, arts and cultural activities stood out for its potential to boost various indicators of attachment, from higher feelings of satisfaction and personal fit with the city, to behaviors such as greater investment of time and resources in the community.

People with easy access to recreational areas (parks and other outdoor amenities) and safe places to work and play also reported stronger feelings of attachment and showed a preference for staying put. Attachment was also deeper for people who spent more time in the main city, as well as those who reported choosing the city for “quality of life” reasons versus those there for family or jobs. 

However, the data also shows that while quality of life amenities matter more to residents of color and lower income groups, they report having more trouble accessing them. Investments in quality of life city amenities should consider any existing inequities and design approaches that address — and not exacerbate them.

Perhaps ironically, some of the things that foster deeper attachment to our cities are also among those most affected by the shutdown: access to museums, concerts, playgrounds, beaches, and to a general sense of safety, while out and about in our community. As social scientist and Knight Public Spaces Fellow Eric Klinenberg argues, investment in social infrastructure (including libraries and parks) is critical in revitalizing civic life and ultimately a resilient community during a crisis. The current pandemic is an opportunity for cities to lead with engagement and inclusivity as they consider redesigned versions of these amenities at the heart of city life. 

Thoughtful communities will strive to rebuild in a way that is resident-driven, with community members at the table, particularly where quality of life amenities are scarce. In the Knight community of Philadelphia, listening to resident needs during the pandemic resulted in a simple solution: roping off “playstreets” in neighborhoods that lack outdoor recreational space to create it, while empowering neighbors to manage the program. This is just one of many creative solutions popping up as communities and residents work together to reimagine the shape of urban life. The time is now for American cities to focus on these questions if they are to successfully reopen and reinvent themselves as desirable cities of the future. Instead of reorienting our cities towards sprawling suburbs, this study suggests that providing equitable access to key quality of life amenities at the heart of communal life — while solving for safety — might be the new holy grail for post-pandemic community design.

Click here to view and download the full report.

Evette Alexander is a director of learning and impact at Knight Foundation and Lilly Weinberg is the program director for community foundations at Knight Foundation.

To further grow Miami’s talent base by supporting underrepresented community members to become certified for a career in the tech sector.

As cities debate how and when to reopen, an Urban Institute report commissioned by Knight Foundation looks at what matters most in attaching residents to their communities.

MIAMI – (May 20, 2020) – As American cities begin to decide when and how to reopen, they are assessing what matters most to residents. Understanding the value of urban amenities that help anchor us to our communities — such as arts, cultural activities and recreational spaces — is more important than ever as cities look for a way forward in the post-pandemic future.

A landmark report commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and conducted by Urban Institute prior to the Covid-19 shutdowns, leverages a survey of 11,000 Americans to create one of the richest datasets available on what drives attachment to one’s city and what cities might do to deepen that sense of connection to their community. 

One of the largest surveys of its kind, “Community Ties: Understanding what attaches people to the place where they live,’’ sampled residents in 26 metro areas and a national sample, without taking a position on the timing of reopenings, to create one of the richest national datasets available on community attachment. As cities begin to reopen, recover and reimagine, the report provides knowledge for public officials and other leaders to help make communities more resilient and think anew about how to build places where people want to live, work and play. 

The report’s key findings include:

  • Of all urban amenities studied, access to arts and culture stands out as not only related to greater feelings of community attachment but also greater investment of time and resources in the community.
  • Residents who feel they have easy access to recreational areas and safe spaces to work and play have more positive feelings regarding their communities.
  • The study shows people of color and low-income residents have a harder time accessing certain quality of life community amenities that boost their attachment. 
  • People who regularly come into the main city of a metro area — whether for work or cultural or sporting events — say they feel more attached to their community. They are more satisfied with it as a place to live, are more likely to stay in the metro area, invest their time and money, and find it a good culture and lifestyle fit.

“Covid-19 is causing us to rethink the future of our communities,” said Sam Gill, Knight’s chief program officer and senior vice president. “People are reevaluating what matters to them. In some cases, the pandemic has left us yearning for the parks and gathering spaces we are now denied. In other cases, it’s leading us to ask how people can safely come together and connect.”

Local data from 26 communities can help inform officials and organizational leaders in the short-term as they evaluate how to reopen, and in the long-term, as they reinvest in their community’s quality of life, which has been challenged by the shutdowns.

“Building resilient communities where people want to live began long before Covid-19,” said Evette Alexander, Knight’s director of learning and impact. “By shedding light on what helps connect us to the places where we live, this report can be a useful guide to creating vibrant cities for the future.”

To be connected with the report’s authors and spokespeople from Knight Foundation to discuss this report, please contact Tony Franquiz at 202-374-5393 or [email protected]

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About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit kf.org. 

Media Contact:
Tony Franquiz, [email protected], 202-374-5393

Well before COVID-19 shut down community life as we know it, Knight Foundation commissioned Urban Institute to explore a key question: what attaches people to the places where they live? To understand this question, Urban Institute, in partnership with the firm SSRS, surveyed over 11,000 Americans: 1,206 U.S. adults living in urbanized areas and 10,261 living in 26 metro areas throughout the United States where Knight Foundation works.

Understanding what ties residents to their community may be even more important in a post-pandemic America. Many of us have become more acutely aware of the amenities in our communities that were rendered inaccessible during closures. At the same time, new questions are being raised about what the future of community will look like. Critical to addressing all of these issues is a clear understanding of what matters to people about their community—and what about that community connects them to the place and to each other. We wanted to learn more about what attaches people to the places they live, measured both sentiment (how they feel about the place) and behavior (ways they might exhibit their sense of attachment). These insights could shed light on why people choose to stay in a place or to leave, and could inform efforts by cities to boost attachment in their local communities.


Additional Resources

To work across a set of local newsrooms to develop a proof of concept of a method of converting open data to audio in order to better engage the blind and visually impaired.  

To support community engagement in the planning of the South Street Headhouse District of Philadelphia through an open data portal for residents.

To develop and launch SIM-PHL, a city-simulator game that depicts Philadelphia neighborhoods based on a database of real property values, incident reports, and zoning maps available at Atlas.Phila.Gov.  

To develop an extended reality (XR) platform using visual data to assist the City of Charlotte’s community engagement efforts for The Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

To develop a real-time asthma alert system that analyzes community environmental and health data to prevent asthma attacks for residents in Long Beach.  

To design an augmented reality web application and outdoor media campaign that enables San Jose residents to visualize the information that is gathered and transmitted all around them. 

To invest in Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation’s fourth venture philanthropy fund to enable targeted consulting and direct investment in at least three Knight-supported organizations.