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H-Town Rock
Rock Talk, Vol. IX
The Urban Research Center of Houston at Rice University has published the results of their annual Houston Area Survey. For the past 27 years, the Houston Area Survey has tracked our attitudes on topics like economics, politics, immigration, crime and family values. The website links to a summary of the 2009 findings. So what's changed and what's stayed the same? While we are finally feeling the effects of the recession, we're still optimistic about living here. Up from 31% in 2007, 44% of those polled felt Houston is a much better place to live compared to other metropolitan areas. The economy dominates our concerns this year, pushing aside crime, pollution, and our favorite gripe, traffic. Our attitudes towards mass transit have improved, though 54% polled stated that they would still commute to work even if public transportation was more efficient. We have not changed our minds on some hot button issues like abortion. However, negative attitudes towards immigration and gay rights have lessened.
Houstonist wants to know: how does the survey stack up to your opinions?
Photo courtesy of Flickr user telwink
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I bet that 54% of people who would still drive to work would drop IF we had reliable mass transit and they could see the benefits in action. Just sayin'.
I'm going to guess that people realize that, although the economy isn't doing well, it's worse elsewhere.
I apparently have a relatively rosy opinion of Houston, since I really enjoy it.
I think most of us do, really enjoy it here that is. I've always said one of the best things about Houston is the people, how our residents seem to be just plain happy.
Well, I was a bit confused by the 44% saying Houston is a better place to live than other metropolitan cities. It's possible that fewer than 44% said that Houston isn't a better place to live, and over 12% gave an "other" answer. The summary provided by the URC doesn't seem so clear.
One of the things I like about Houston is the diversity. I've heard people complain that there's nothing to do in Houston, but there's just a bunch of things to do that people don't normally think about. I think that Houston is also the most multicultural city in the US--other US cities that claim to represent a variety of countries don't do it the same way. They have segregated parts of town. In Houston, our cultures are all mixed together. We don't have a "Little Italy" or a Russian part of town. It's really unique, and I think people really enjoy it.