Cover image credit to Prairie Sky Breads, find them on their website or on Facebook here.
As more of our civic discourse moves online, we become less connected to our communities and real people — unless you frequent a local library, bakery, cafe, or bar. And it’s where we live in relation to these amenities that heavily influences the quality of our lives.
These are just some of the findings of a recent report by the American Enterprise Institute. Check out the full report here, but you can get the bullet points and a 60-second video explanation on the findings below.
Key Findings of AEI Study
- Americans who live in closer proximity to community parks, libraries, restaurants, and theaters are more content with their neighborhood, more trusting of others, and less lonely regardless of whether they live in large cities, suburbs, or small cities or towns.
- Residents of amenity-packed neighborhoods are more likely to say their community is an excellent place to live, to feel safer walking around their neighborhood at night, and to report greater interest in neighborhood goings-on.
- Americans who live in communities with little access to amenities have a far greater likelihood of feeling socially isolated.
- Even after accounting for an individual’s social class, education, gender, and race, amenity access predicts feelings of community satisfaction, social trust, and social isolation.
