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Shiny, Happy People: Part 2 of the Pew poll is out, says we're optimistic
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Shiny, Happy People: Part 2 of the Pew poll is out, says we're optimistic
Remember a few weeks back when I broke down the Pew Charitable Trust's poll? Well, part 2 is out today, and it "shows that Philadelphians are optimistic about the city's prospects even though many of them have suffered personally as a result of the economic downturn of the last 18 months." Primarily, according to the poll, we're far less worried about crime than we were a year ago: In January 2009 45 percent of respondents cited "crime" as their biggest concern; that percentage has dropped markedly, to 35 percent. 63 percent of us rate Philly as an excellent or good place to live, up from 55 percent last year.
Although, on the other hand, 37 percent say they'd leave town if they could, up slightly from last year, and only 59 percent say the city will be a better place to live next year than now, down from 68 percent who said so last year.
Now, for the cross-tabs: Interestingly, it's the youngest Philadelphians who are most concerned with crime. 40 percent of those under 35 rate it as a top concern, compared to 26 percent of those over 65. Also, crime is the most primary concern of what I might call the sorta upper middle class, those earning 50k to 100k a year. They rate crime a few points higher than do our poorest brethren. Oh, here's something else I need to wrap my head around: Guess which hood is the most concerned about crime. If you said West Philly, you'd be wrong. North Philly, home of the Badlands? Bzzz. It's Northwest Philly, home to East Falls, West Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill, all bastions of criminal activity, to be certain (to be fair, there are some sketchy zones up that way).
Citywide, 49 percent of us say we or someone we know was unemployed last year. Not surprisingly, that number goes down as one's level of education goes up. Stay in school, kids. Not surprisingly, whites consider their financial situation more secure than do blacks or Hispanics. According to the poll, 41 percent of whites describe their financial situation as good or excellent, to 37 percent of Hispanics and only 26 percent of blacks.
Equally across demographic groups, 47 percent of residents label Philly a "good" place to live; however, the number of those who call it "excellent" varies: 23 percent of whites, to 12 percent and 11 percent of blacks and Hispanics, respectively. Again, not a shock, but the number of those who feel positively toward the city correlates strongly with increased income and education.
Finally, the city's right track/wrong track numbers seem pretty positive, given the national mood — 41/34.
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