Study: Tallahasseeans appreciate city’s social offerings, physical beauty
According to the “Soul of the Community” study, the number one quality that makes Tallahassee’s residents love where they live is social offerings (such as entertainment venues for people to meet each other).
However, they said that the community could improve in this area. Residents find Tallahassee’s strengths to be aesthetics (such as physical beauty and green spaces) and education (kindergarten through college).
The first year of the Gallup study, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, was conducted in Tallahassee and 25 other communities across the United States, according to a news release.
“This is a new way of looking at how engaged residents create successful communities,” said Paula Ellis, vice president for strategic initiatives at Knight Foundation. “The data provide new insights to leaders focused on improving the long-term economic well-being of their communities beyond the immediate challenges of the financial crisis.”
Mike Pate, Knight Foundation program director for Tallahassee said: “The findings for Tallahassee show that social offerings are the most important driver of engagement for our residents. Knowing what connects residents to Tallahassee, what drives their community-citizen engagement, is especially valuable during the economic crisis as findings can help our leaders to focus resources to areas that will make Tallahassee a better place to live and work, and possibly have an impact on long-term economic growth.
The Knight Creative Communities Initiative (KCCI) spun off of two other important programs that are at work in the community. Knight Foundation provided funding for this year’s inaugural Tallahassee Film Festival which attracted thousands of attendees. Sustainable Tallahassee, another outgrowth of KCCI, is a new non-profit in the community with a goal of providing networking opportunities leading to stimulating green industry in our community. All of these programs fit Gallup’s findings of the need for more social offerings.
