ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager with a Request to Receive and File the 2015 NATIONAL CITIZEN SURVEY COMMUNITY LIVABILITY REPORT.
Body
BACKGROUND: For the second straight year, the City of Peoria engaged The National Citizen Survey (NCS) to prepare a Community Livability Report. According to NCS, "livability" is not a measure of habitability but also of desirability. NCS sent its survey to a scientifically representative sample of 357 residents of the City. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 5%. The survey covered eight areas:
* Safety
* Mobility
* Natural Environment
* Built Environment
* Economy
* Recreation and Wellness
* Education and Enrichment
* Community Engagement
The full report, including all appendices, is attached. Page 12 of the first section outlines the NCS conclusions:
1. Residents are positive about their quality of life. The overall quality of life in Peoria was generally seen as excellent or good by over half of survey respondents and about 6 in 10 residents positively rated Peoria as a place to live. Both of these ratings increased from 2014 to 2015. Close to two-thirds of residents rate their neighborhoods as excellent or good places to live and would recommend living in Peoria. While only one-third of residents gave high ratings to the overall image of the City and Peoria as a place to retire, a level that is lower than in other communities, both of these items increased over time.
2. Safety ratings have increased but there is still room for improvement. Peoria residents rated several aspects of Safety higher in 2015 than in 2014. Ratings increased for overall feeling of safety, feeling safe in Peoria's downtown/commercial area, police services and crime prevention. Fewer respondents also reported being the victim of a crime in the last year. Most Safety ratings were similar or lower than the national benchmark. However, there is still room for improvement in Peoria's Safety...
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