The average length of residency on the block was approximately 16 years. Of the residents that participated, 62% were female and 38% were male. Eighty percent didn’t know anything about the history of the block, and the average household is at about the middle income level.

The idea of whether people on the street feel connect to each other had a very surprising range. It ranged from 38% felt there wasn’t really any connection or that people talk about community problems to 79% of you agreed that you know each other. 69% trust each other, 62% also agreed that they liked each other.

Belonging

So, why the huge variance. Well, the belonging category could give some insight. These results were even more ambiguous. Ambiguous in that only half of you were agreeing on these categories. Consider the following:

• 50% agreed that people on the block think of themselves as a community, and 44% weren’t sure

• 50% agreed that there’s a feeling of community on the block, and 38% weren’t sure

• 50% agreed people on the block share the same values, and 44% weren’t sure

• 50% agreed they were committed to the block’s future and 44% weren’t sure

• 50% agreed that they feel they belong and

• 50% said that they weren’t sure.

Empowerment

Empowerment is simply the ability to take charge. The highest agreement came with 75% of you believing that residents on your street can reduce the amount of crime. That’s great! However, the fact that 31% believe they have a voice regarding community issues, and 25% agreed that residents do things to improve the block could relate to the sense of belonging and connectivity on the block which was mentioned earlier.

People on this block like to give each other rides (81% agreed), watch out for each other (81% agreed), and help each other out (75% agreed). A large percentage of you feel it’s safe to live on the block (63%), and that it’s safe to walk on the block at night (69% agreed).

This was an interesting block because it is very dynamic in some areas and lacking in others. Overall, 67% of you thought that there was less criminal activity on your block than on others. As for the overall sense of community, 44% felt there was too little, and 56% felt it was just about right. This pretty much reflects the mixed findings of this block.

The purpose of this newsletter was not to give answers on how to create a greater sense of community on your block - that’s really for the residents to come up with. However, we did want to let you know what the "sense" was on your block. It is not a bad neighborhood to live in. Even though some residents feel there is no connection with other residents, and most are unsure whether they belong or not, people trust and like each other, and feel pretty safe on this block.