Page 2 - The City of Greensboro Community Preference Survey

Executive Summary - Overview

The Greensboro Smart Growth survey echoes many of the findings of NAR’s 2017 Community and Transportation

Preferences Survey.* Residents are split on what they look for in a neighborhood. A small majority prefer the idea of a

walkable community and more alternatives to driving – and this preference is slightly higher in Greensboro than among

respondents living in the top 50 metropolitan statistic areas (MSAs). Nonetheless, suburban, driving-intensive living
remains highly attractive to a sizeable portion of the community.

Greensboro residents remain conflicted when it comes to determining what is most important in a home. On the one

hand, there is an evident desire for the closeness and convenience that come from communities where walking is easy

and errand and commute times are short. On the other hand, the majority of residents continue to live in single-family,

detached homes and value closeness to the highway as much as they do a walkable community.

In general, people in Greensboro are very satisfied with the quality of life in their community. The vast majority (9 in 10)

residents are either very or somewhat satisfied with their quality of life, with nearly half of all residents saying they are

very satisfied. These satisfaction numbers are higher than for Americans in the top 50 MSAs, especially when it comes

to being very satisfied: 46 percent are very satisfied in Greensboro compared to 37 percent in metropolitan areas

throughout the country.

*Comparisons between the two surveys should take into account that the National Survey was conducted online,
reaching 3000 adults in the United States’ top 50 metropolitan statistical areas. The Greensboro survey was
conducted by phone. The differences in mode and sample universe may cause additional differences in responses.