Denver Area Report Pt. 1

Research – Straight Talk From Americans – 2000

A Survey for the Pew Center for Civic Journalism 
Conducted By Princeton Survey Research Associates

The Denver Area: Part One

CONTENTS
Highlights
This Survey
The State of The Community
Top Local Problems
Table 1: Most Important Local Issue
Detailed Findings: Growth, Traffic and Sprawl
The Daily Grind
Table 2: Top Most Ignored Local Issues
Top Local Problems: Crime and Safety
Table 3: Feeling Safe
Detailed Findings: Race
Differing Perspectives
Table 4: Agree That Institutions Are Fair
Immigration
Neighborhood Diversity
[To Denver Part Two >>]

Highlights

Denver area residents enter the new century happy with their community in many ways, but deeply worried by the problems of growth, sprawl and traffic that overwhelm all other concerns. An astonishing 60 percent of Denver residents cite this complex of problems as the top local issue.

This level of concern easily tops any of those found in the other PCCJ surveys and moves substantially beyond the levels found in many other surveys on the most important issue at either the local or national level.

Residents are concerned that local officials are not paying enough attention to the problems of sprawl and growth, even as the public is itself divided about how to deal with the complexities of the issues.

Given the huge level of concern about growth and sprawl, no other issue can come close – among any group of residents. Crime, violence and drugs are the major local problem mentioned by nine percent of Denver residents. Six percent mentioned educational issues as the major local problem.

In response both to the open-ended questions and to the more specific queries about education, race and lifestyle, there are often differences by various demographic groups – particularly in the opinions of the seriousness of problems that face the community and in the judgments of the institutions charged with solving those problems. 

• White residents and minority residents have sharply different views on whether local institutions treat minorities fairly. For example, three in five white residents say the police treat everyone equally, while only about one in five minority residents agree. 
• Residents are more likely to say that recent immigrants from other countries caused problems in the United States than they are to say that the immigrants have made contributions. Thirty-nine percent say that recent immigrants have been a source of problems.
• A majority of Denver residents say that the quality of education in the local public schools is a problem. Updating the educational resources in the schools and reducing class sizes are seen as the greatest needs in the public education system, with about two in five saying each is a major need.
• While most residents express satisfaction with how much time they spend in everyday tasks, parents with children at home and those from households where both the husband and wife work are less satisfied with their leisure time.

This Survey

This survey is designed to provide journalists a clear look at where the nation and its communities stand at the start of a new century. This survey of the Denver area – accompanied by a national poll and surveys in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Tampa – serves as a guide to areas worthy of further investigation and reporting and as a context for that investigation and reporting. In addition to the broad look at the state of the nation and the communities, the survey takes a closer look at public opinion in three specific problem areas: growth and sprawl, race, and education. These areas were identified by PCCJ as of particular importance in shaping the journalism of the years ahead. 

This poll for the Pew Center for Civic Journalism offered Denver area residents the opportunity to list the issues most important to them, both at the national and local levels. A series of open-ended questions elicited free-form responses from the public about what is on their minds at the end of the decade. This approach allowed citizens to express their views without the filter of defining the problems to be discussed. After these free-form questions, more specific questions were included to focus on specific issues.

These are among the findings of a new survey in the Denver area about the state of the country and our local communities at the end of the 1990s. This survey of adults aged 18 and older in the Denver area was conducted on behalf of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts. This survey covered residents in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties in the Denver area. All the findings of the survey refer to that six-county area. A representative sample of 502 adults was interviewed by telephone during the period November 10 through December 1, 1999. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus five percentage points. Results based on smaller subgroups are subject to a larger margin of sampling error. In addition to sampling error, the practical difficulties of conducting telephone surveys can introduce error or bias into their results.

The State of The Community

Denver area residents are happy with their community overall, a belief that is apparent in a number of ways. About two-thirds of area residents (66%) say they are satisfied with “the way things are going in the Denver area.” Twenty-eight percent are dissatisfied and six percent are not sure. 

While positive, those numbers are below the figures from the national PCCJ survey. Nationally, 74 percent say they are satisfied with “the way things are going in your community.” Only 22 percent are dissatisfied. 

Looking at Denver with another yardstick, three-quarters of residents give excellent or good ratings to the area as a place to live (The survey is based on telephone interviews with residents of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties in the Denver area. All references to Denver, the Denver area and the like refer to the six-county are). About a third (34%) rate the area as excellent and about half (51%) rate it as good. Just 12 percent rate their community as only fair and three percent rate it as poor. Unlike the question on satisfaction, these numbers from Denver residents just about match the national figures. Nationally, 84 percent of the public give their community positive ratings and 16 percent negative ratings. 

With these relatively high ratings, there are some variations by demographic group.

• Those with incomes of $60,000 a year or more rate their communities most highly, with 95 percent giving positive marks. Of those who make under $20,000 a year, 73 percent rate their communities highly. (Differences in survey findings are noted in this report only if they meet the criterion of statistical significance at the (95%) level of confidence.)
• White and minority residents give roughly similar ratings to the area, although there is a suggestion in the data that Hispanic residents may be less likely to give Denver top marks as a place to live. (The number of African-American as a group and Hispanic residents as a group are each too small to analyze separately in the survey. But there are 98 interviews with minority residents – including African-American and Hispanic residents as well as those of other races – so this analysis focuses on this larger group of all minority residents. Where the data may suggest differences – but not meet the standard tests for significance – this may be noted.)

Top Local Problems

“Urban sprawl is creating more problems than anything else right now: Too many people crammed too close together.”
— Words from one Denver resident

Growth, traffic and sprawl are the biggest problems in the Denver area by a remarkably wide margin. A remarkable 60 percent of residents name this diverse cluster of issues – which focuses on the impact of growth and development on the daily lives of individuals – as the top local problem. Whether it is traffic congestion, poorly-maintained roads, inadequate water supplies or crowded schools, all the complaints focus on the quality of life that is endangered as the local infrastructure fails to keep pace with growth and development. (See Table 1.) 

NOTE: An asterisk (*) means less than .5 percent gave this answer.

Issues related to sprawl are mentioned more often by men, the college-educated and higher-income residents.

• For example, 65 percent of the men mentioned growth and development as the top issue, compared with 55 percent of the women.
• Those who have at least attended college are more likely to be concerned about it than those who have not (66% vs. 50%).
• And white residents are more likely to mention it than minority residents (62% vs. 47%).

At a much lower level, crime is the No. 2 problem from the Denver point of view, mentioned by just about one in ten residents as the top issue. Crime is slightly more likely to be the top issue for those who have not been to college and lower-income residents. 

• Among those who make less than $20,000 a year, 15 percent mention crime as an issue, compared with only seven percent of those who make $60,000 a year and more. 
• Those who have not been to college mention crime as the top issue 14 percent of the time, compared to six percent of those who have gone to college. 
• There is little difference between white residents and minority residents in mentioning crime as the top issue. The variations in opinion by income and education are independent of race.

Detailed Findings: Growth, Traffic and Sprawl

Ask Denver residents what the most important local problems are and the answers can be summed up in four words: “Too much” and “Not enough”. 

• Too much growth.
• Too much development.
• Too much traffic. 
• Not enough water.
• Not enough schools.
• Not enough services.

The complex of issues surrounding growth, development, traffic and roads is easily the top issue on the list of problems that Denver residents mention without prompting, since 60 percent of them do so.

But that might even understate the public’s concern. Asked in a separate question whether traffic congestion is a problem “in the community where you live”, a whopping 90 percent of Denver residents say it is a problem, with three-quarters of the public (73%) saying it is a big problem. And 17 percent say it is a small problem. Only 10 percent say traffic congestion is not a problem. 

Likewise, “too much growth and development” are labeled as a problem by 87 percent of Denver area residents, with 65 percent calling it a big problem. Twenty-two percent call it a small problem and 13 percent say it is not a problem.

The Daily Grind

Traffic is perceived to be a problem in part because residents spend so much time in their cars. More than eight out of ten Denver area workers (83%) commute to their jobs on an average day. For just a quarter of the workers (26%), the commute takes less than 15 minutes. About another third (33%), the daily commute lasts 15 minutes to just under half an hour. But for 21 percent of the workers, the travel to work lasts half-an-hour to just under 45 minutes. And for 17 percent of the workers, the commute is 45 minutes or more each and every workday. Denver residents report a longer commute than do Americans generally in the national PCCJ survey.

In national terms, the average commute is getting longer. A 1993 survey for Family Circle magazine found 42 percent saying the daily commute was less than 15 minutes; 31 percent saying 15 to 29 minutes; 14 percent a half an hour to 44 minutes and 11 percent for 45 minutes or more each day. (Telephone survey for Family Circle Family Index Project, based on 2,004 interviews of adult heads of households, June 1-June16, 1993 by Princeton Survey Research Associates.)

Those who say traffic congestion is at least a small problem were asked to pinpoint the cause of the problem. Fifty-nine percent say that the reason is simple population growth in the area. Sixteen percent blame a lack of adequate planning. Eight percent say not enough money has been spent on highways and transportation and 10 percent say over-development. Seven percent are not sure. Denver residents are much more likely to blame population growth than Americans generally for traffic problems (59% vs. 44%).

The issues of growth and development are bedeviling local and state officials across the country and in Denver, in part because there is a substantial division over how to deal with the problems. This split is evident in the answers to a question how local government should use its power to focus growth. About two in five residents (39%) say that local government should allow growth and development to continue to occur in all areas. But a bare majority (51%) say that growth and development should be limited to areas that are already built up, implicitly protecting those areas that are not yet developed. The Denver opinions are almost the mirror image of those nationally, where most (52%) favor continued widespread development compared to those who favor limiting it to already developed areas (40%).

Thinking about the problems most ignored by local officials, Denver area residents put growth, development and roads at the top of the list. Twenty-seven percent of the Denver area residents say that this issue is being ignored. Slightly fewer than one in ten residents say officials are ignoring problems related to education (10%) and crime and violence (7%).

Local newspapers and television stations have been devoting more and more stories to issues of sprawl, traffic and growth – and that effort has been noticed. Sixty-five percent of the Denver public gives their local news media excellent or good job marks for the job they do covering issues of growth, development and traffic. Only 26 percent give the local media “only fair” marks and seven percent rate their work poor. Nationally, 58 percent of the public gives their local news media positive marks for covering the growth, development and traffic issues.

Top Local Problems: Crime and Safety

Although sprawl overwhelms all other issues on a top problems list in Denver, crime is still a major issue. In a separate question asking about crime, violence and drugs, 75 percent of residents said it is a problem in the community where they live. That includes 31 percent who call it a big problem and 44 percent say it is at least a small problem. Twenty-four percent say it is not a problem.

The concern about crime is real, but Denver residents feel very safe at home and in other familiar locales. Ninety-seven percent say they feel very safe or somewhat safe at home at night. Eighty-one percent say they feel equally safe walking around their neighborhood at night. Despite recent tragedies at schools – including the Columbine High School shootings in the survey area – 65 percent say that they feel they and their families are safe at school. And 77 percent say they feel safe at the shopping malls at night. (77 percent say they feel somewhat safe at shopping malls. This number (77%) is not the simple addition of the 23% and the 55% listed in Table 2. Due to rounding, the sum of the “very safe” answers and the “somewhat safe” answers actually adds to 77 percent, not 78 percent.)

NOTE: ***= 77 percent say they feel somewhat safe at shopping malls. This number (77%) is not the simple addition of the 23% and the 55% listed in Table 2. Due to rounding, the sum of the “very safe” answers and the “somewhat safe” answers actually adds to 77 percent, not 78 percent.

Looking at people in their homes at night, the differences occur among the levels of those who say they feel very safe:

• More than two-thirds of white residents (71%), but only 45 percent of minority residents, say they feel very safe.
• A total of 71 percent of suburbanites say they feel verysafe, compared to 59 percent of city dwellers.
• While only 56 percent of those with incomes under $40,000 a year feel very safe at home, 75 percent of those with incomes at least $40,000 say they feel that safe.

When people talk about walking around their neighborhoods at night, the differences among groups occur both among those who say they feel very safe and in overall feelings of safety:

• Men (43%) are more likely than women (33%) to feel very safe in their neighborhoods at night.
• About four in 10 white residents (40%), but only 25 percent of minority residents, say they feel very safe. 
• Half of those with incomes of $60,000 and over feel verysafe. Only 20 percent of those making under $20,000 say that.
• Forty-two percent of the suburbanites feel very safe, as opposed to just 28 percent of city residents. (Overall, 85 percent of the suburbanites say they feel at least somewhat safe, while only 74 percent of the city residents do.)

There are some variations in perceptions of the levels of safety at shopping malls after dark.

• Men (31%) are more likely than women (15%) to feel very safe at the malls at night.

Despite a number of shootings at schools nationally that have attracted major attention in the past few years – including the shootings at the Columbine High School in the survey area – the schools in Denver are still viewed as safe from crime, particularly by those most likely to be in a position to judge: the parents.

• Parents with children under age 18 at home are far more likely than those without kids at home to view schools as safe (84% vs. 57%).
• Fully 36 percent of those under age 35 say the schools are very safe, compared with 23 percent of those 35 and older.
• Suburbanites are more likely than their city counterparts to feel that schools are safe. (71% vs. 59%).

Detailed Findings: Race

Denver residents profess not to see tensions between racial groups as a big issue. But this positive view is tempered by the substantial differences between white residents and minority residents about how local institutions treat minorities. White residents see fair treatment; minority residents do not. And there is a substantial undercurrent of belief in the community that recent immigrants have caused problems nationally and in the Denver area.

Most Denver residents do not see tension between racial and ethnic groups as a big problem in their local community, with only 16 percent stating this view. But half of the public does say that racial tensions are at least a small problem. Forty percent say it is not a local problem. Interestingly, roughly the same percentages of white residents and of minority residents say racial tensions are not a problem. Minority residents may be slightly more likely to say that racial tensions are a big problem, while white residents may be more likely to say that the tensions are a small problem.

Differing Perspectives

There is a long history of research documenting the differences between the views of white and minority Americans and this survey continues to show those disparities. The national PCCJ survey shows white Americans are more likely to have a positive opinion of their community than minority Americans. Nationally and in Denver, minority residents are more likely to identify crime as an issue and less likely to mention growth and sprawl as problems.

The survey includes a series of four questions designed to elicit judgments on whether key local institutions treat everyone in Denver fairly or not. Without exception, the majority opinion for each institution is that the institution is fair. White and minority residents in the Denver area do roughly agree about the schools, saying that children have an equal opportunity to get an education, whatever their race. But on the local government, the police and the news media the white residents see fairness and the minority residents do not. (See Table 4.)

NOTE: ***= The difference between white and minority residents is not statistically significant.

Two-thirds of Denver residents (67%) say “All the students have an equal chance to get a good education in our local public schools, regardless of race.” Only 25 percent agree that “students who are black, Hispanic or other minorities do not have as good a chance to get a good education in the local public schools.”

• Sixty percent of minority residents agree, a finding that is not significantly different from the opinions of white residents. There is a suggestion from the data that African-American residents may be less likely to agree with this view.

In terms of the local government, most (68%) agree that “the local government treats everyone the same, regardless of race”, with only 23 percent taking the opposing view that “the local government unfairly treats blacks, Hispanics and other minorities more harshly than others.”

• White residents agree that the government treats everyone fairly by a 74 percent to 18 percent margin. Minority residents take a different view, with only 36 percent agreeing and 51 percent disagreeing.

Dealings with the local police are often a sore point with minorities and these results suggest this is true in Denver. While the public overall says the police are fair by a 55 percent to 30 percent edge, that is most definitely not the view in the minority community. 

• White residents say the police are even-handed by a 61 percent to 25 percent margin. Only 22 percent of the minority residents would agree that the police are fair, while 59 percent say the police are unfair in their treatment of minorities.

The local news media is also viewed as fair by the Denver public generally, but as unfair in the minority community in Denver. Two-thirds of residents (67%) agree that “the news media treats everyone the same, regardless of race.” Just under a third (25%) say that “the news media unfairly runs too many negative stories about blacks, Hispanics and other minorities.”

• In contrast, members of Denver’s minority community agree with the criticism of the news media by a 48 percent to 38 percent margin. White residents reject the criticism by 73 percent to 21 percent.

Immigration

The impact of immigrants on America, on Colorado and on the Denver area has been enormous. And the country has seen a very diverse group of immigrants to the country over the last 20 years. 

On balance, Denver residents see recent immigrants as more of a problem than a positive influence on the country as a whole. Thirty-nine percent of the Denver public says that immigrants have been a problem for the country, with 24 percent saying they have created big problems and 15 percent small problems. Only 22 percent say immigrants have done more to improve the country than to cause problems. And about a third (31%) say that immigrants have not had much effect. These figures are not much different from those found around the country on the issue in the national PCCJ survey.

The Denver public’s views are somewhat less harsh when the focus is moved from the country as a whole to their own community. (See figure 2.) Thirty-seven percent of the public say that recent immigrants have not had much impact on their community. Thirty-two percent say that immigrants have caused problems in their community, with 17 percent saying they have caused big problems and 15 percent saying they have caused small ones. Only 21 percent of the public say that recent immigrants have improved their local community. 

Denver residents are more likely than all Americans to say recent immigrants have done more to improve their local area (21% vs. 13%). (See Figure 2.) But they are also more likely to say that recent immigrants have created at least small problems (32% vs. 20%). The net effect of these two differences is that Denver residents are much less likely than all Americans to say that immigrants have not made any difference (37% vs. 61%).

The figures from the national PCCJ survey actually reflect a slight improvement in the past few years. A survey in 1997 for the Knight-Ridder newspapers found that 50 percent of Americans said that recent immigrants created problems for the country, with 33 percent saying they had created big problems (A telephone survey for Knight-Ridder Newspapers by Princeton Survey Research Associates, based on interviews with 1,314 adults, age 18 years and older, May 2-26, 1997). The same number in each survey (16%) say that immigrants have improved the nation, while fewer in the survey in 1997 say that they have had no impact (27%).

Neighborhood Diversity

When Denver residents walk their neighborhood streets, they say they see diversity. About half (52%) percent say that there is a mixture of racial groups in their neighborhood. One-third (33%) report that most of the people in their neighborhood are of their race and 10 percent of the public say that everyone in their neighborhood is the same race as they are. 

These numbers suggest that the neighborhoods of Denver are more racially diverse than is true nationally. For example, only 38 percent in the national PCCJ survey say they live in neighborhoods with a mixture of races, compared to the 52 percent finding in Denver.

Denver area residents say they would not move out of their neighborhoods if the racial makeup of the area changed substantially. Asked if they would move if their neighborhood changed so much that “a great majority of your neighbors were of a different race than you”, only four percent say they would move. Eighty-one percent say they would not move. Twelve percent say it would depend on the circumstances.

Despite these reports of substantial diversity in the neighborhoods, Denver residents say they are most likely to talk with those of different races outside of the neighborhood. Thirty-eight percent say that they most often talk to those of other races at work. Twenty percent say those conversations most often occur in stores and shops. Only 13 percent say they most often talk with others of different races in their neighborhoods and seven percent say at school. Eight percent report the conversations at church and 12 percent at some other place. These numbers are virtually identical to the findings in the national PCCJ survey.

Report continued in Denver Part Two…