The role of place in community vitality has changed.
Is your community ready?
Now, place seems to be more important than ever....
Young people now pick a place to live first and a job second.
Highly-sought talent groups often will have job offers in more than one place, so place itself figures prominently in their decision.
What about a place makes people want to live there?
Is there an economic benefit to residents feeling attached to the community?
How can communities optimize themselves as a place?
The Soul of the Community study offers new insights on the issue, by exploring what draws people to a community - and what makes them want to put down roots and build a life. Conducted by Gallup in 26 communities and funded the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the study probes the emotional factors that bind people to place.
An area’s physical beauty, opportunities for socializing and its openness to all people provide the emotional glue that keeps residents happily entrenched, the study has found.
Yet the survey also delves deeper, to explore whether communities with more attached residents are better off. So far, two years of results have found a significant relationship between people’s passion and loyalty for their community and local economic growth.
Dr. Loflin is proud to be in partnership with Gallup and Knight, serving as lead consultant on the project to help in the dissemination and application of these findings across the country.
Clips from Soul of the Community Presentations:
Introducing the idea...
Why the study takes a regional approach...
Explaining the model...
Exploring the local economic growth connection...
Implications of the project...
Discussing some of the main findings...
News coverage on the project can be found by clicking here.
For more information, including full community results, interactive maps, blog, raw data download and more go to:
