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The More Welcoming Community the Higher its GDP

Submitted by on September 22, 2011 – 9:19 pmNo Comment | 2,054 views
Diversity and inclusion affect community economic well-being, finds a new study by Knight Foundation (Miami). The foundation partnered with Gallup to  study what makes Americans love where they live. 43,000 from 26 communities across the United States were surveyed over three years.

The study found that people are mostly driven to live where they are by three major factors: a community’s social offerings (fun things to do), openness of the community and its physical beauty. What is mostly interesting is that research showed a significant correlation between residents’ affection for their community and the area’s local economic growth (level of GDP).

“This study is important because its findings about emotional attachment to place point to a new perspective that we encourage leaders to consider; it is especially valuable as we aim to strengthen our communities during this tough economic time,” said Paula Ellis, Knight Foundation’s vice president for strategic initiatives.

“This survey offers new approaches for communities to organize themselves to attract businesses, keep residents and holistically improve their local economic vitality,”said Jon Clifton, deputy director of the Gallup World Poll, who conducted the survey with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Learn more about the study and how its results are being used by Miami , Detroit and other cities to form public policies.

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