HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982 n,.rn
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1982 DENTON SURVEY
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Prepared by:
James J. Glass
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During the months of April and May 19829 a citizen survey was
designed and administered by James J. Glass, independent consultant for
the City of Denton. The 1982 citizen survey is the fourth successive
citizen survey conducted by Dr. Glass for the city. As a result of
the city staff's continuing commitment to the survey concept, the
opportunity to compare citizen evaluations and opinions over time now
exists. The report is divided into six major sections: methodology,
sample characteristics, city services, city administration, citizen
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information, the appearance of Denton, and energy consumption.
E Methodology
A similar methodology to that used in the past three surveys was
employed for the 1982 project. Again, a systematic random sample was
selected as the most appropriate design for the study. To obtain a
representative sample of all adult residents in the city, 390 completed
interviews were needed. The actual size of the sample drawn was inflated
to 900 to take into account non-working numbers, inappropriate numbers,
~ refusals, and no contacts, The sample was selected from the most recent
edition of the Denton telephone directory. After selection, the 900
numbers were then randomly divided among eight interviewers.
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The interviewers were recruited and trained by the consultant.
Training consisted of three basic elements. First, interviewers were
informed about details of the survey. Su h items as the reasons for doing
the survey, the concept of a random sample, and the administration of the
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survey were discussed. Second, telephone interviewing methods were
presented. The interviewer's attitude, methods of conducting an in-
terview, interviewing problems, and standard procedures were covered.
Floally, the trainees were familiarized with the questionnaire. Each
question was discussed and the specific instructions on the question-
naire were explained, The interviewers were provided with written
material on the interviewing process, and they were instructed to
conduct sever.l practice interviews. Six of the interviewers had done
interviewing for the 1981 survey so they were already familiar with the
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survey's purpose and telephone interviewing techniques,
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Each interviewer was assigned a quota of 50 completed interviews.
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The interviewing was conducted over a period of 15 days from May 2 to
May lb, 1982. A total of 395 usable interviews was obtain
~ ed. The
number of responses exceeds the target number, so the survey population
should be representative of Denton's adult population.
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The data are presented in tabular form with some descriptive
comments, but with little interpretation or evaluation. The objective
is to allow the staff and the council to judge the results for them-
selves. The analysis of the data involved two steps. First, the
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marginal percentages for each question were calculated. These are dis-
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1 played in the text as the percent responding "yes" or "no" or "excellent,"
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"good," "fair," or "poor" to a question, for example. Upon completion
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of the first step, each question was then cross-tabulated with the
following eight characteristics.
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1. Length of residence
2. Owner-renter status
3. Age
4. Education
5. Employment
6. Income
7. Ethnic group
8. Sex
The eight characteristics comprise a set of independent variables
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{ that could add more detail to the responses of thi residents. None of
j the eight characteristics proved to be consistently useful in detailing
all the results, however, each added detail to certain of the responses.
In each of the following sections, the 1982 results are compared
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with past survey data when possible. Comparisons are made only when the
questions asked were the same or similar. When 1982 results are presented
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alo>>e, either the question was not asked previously or its wording was
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} altered significantly.
Sample Characteristics
Table I presents a summary of the descriptive characteristics of the
a sample. Data on most of these characteristics were also gathered In 19791
19801 and 1981. As in the other surveys, Denton may be described generally
as a predominantly white, middle to upper-income, well-educated community.
The population is divided approximately equally between these 35 years of
age and younger and those who are 36 and older. Additionally, there is
a significant percentage (17.8) who are 61 and older. A majority of
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Fable 1
Sample Characteristics
Characteristic Percent _
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1982 1981 1980 1979 j
Age 2610 22.9 29.3 24.4
18-25 26.2 23.6 25.7 28.4
26-35
36-45 13.7 18.1 14.9 16.0
16.3 16.8 14.6 16.3
46-60
61 and over 17.8 18.6 15.6 14.9
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Sex
44.9 44.2 40.5 40.6
Male
Female 54.8 55.7 59.5 59.4
Race 88.8 88.8 89.9 87.2
White 6.1 5.2 6.9 7.2
Black
Hispanic 3.3 3.4 1.2 3.2
Other 1.8 1.8 2.1 2.3
Homeownership 54.7 57.2 53.7 60.2
Own
Rent 45.3 42.7 46.3 39.8
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4 Income Less than $5,000 9.7 9.4 16.7 14.2
$59000-$95999 15.8 19.1 17.4 18.7
$10,000-$14,999 16.9 11.0 13.0 20.5
f $15,000-$24,999 20.8 24.3 25.1 23.0
$25,000 and over 36.2 27.8 23.6
525,000-$34,000 16.4
535,000-549,999 13.2
$50,000 and over 7.2
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E&Cati on
Less than 8 years 3.1 2.5 3.9 5.5
Some High School 5.5 6.6 6.3 4.6
High School Graduate 21.2 18.5 15.5 18.7
Some College 24.3 28.4 26.8 27.9
College Graduate 23.8 19.0 19.9 19.3
s Some Graduate School/ 21.9 24.6 27.7 24.1
Graduate Degree
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Table 1 (Continued)
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! Characteristic Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
Length of Residence
3-12 months 7.3 5.5 9.5 12.0
1-5 years 33.9 35.0 33.7 32.5
6-10 years 17.7 15.5 18.9 16.0
more Shan 10 years 41.-t 43.8 37.9 39.6
Household Member Handicapped
Yes 7.6
92.4
No
s Place of Work
Denton 84.4
3 Dallas 6.3
Fort Worth 1.6 Lewisville
1.6
Other 6.1
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E respondents (54.7 percent) owned their own home. That Denton is a stable
f community is evidenced by the fact that 17.7 percent of the simple stated
j they had lived in Denton for 6 to 10 years and 41.1 stated they had lived
E in Denton for more than 10 years. The high percentage of home ownership
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may be a contributing factor to Denton's stability.
Two questions were asked in the 1982 survey that had not been in-
cluded in previous surveys. First, respondents were asked their place of
work. The responses suggest that Denton cannot be characterized as a
commuter community. Slightly over 84 percent indicated that they worked
in Denton, with 6.4 percent stating that they worked in Dallas. The
remaining responses were scattered among a large number of surrounding
cities. Second, respondents were asked whether any member of their house-
hold was physically handicapped and 7.6 percent responded positively.
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The similarity among the percentages of the various characteristics
over the four surveys is a very positive sign. Most of the percentages
associated with the categories of each characteristic vary by 6 percent
or less. As a result of the similar percentages obtained over the four
surveys, we can be increasingly confident that each sample was repre-
sentative of the adult population of Denton.
City Services
The largest number of survey questions concerned services provided
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by the city. This section of the report presents responses to the service
questions. Included are the following services or service concerns:
1. Streets
2. kecreation and Libraries
3. Garbage Collection
4. Emergency Services
5. Animal Control
6. Service Ratings
7. Service Reductions
Streets
s Respondents continue to rate Denton's streets and road surfaces as
less than good as may be seen in Table 2. The only descriptive character-
istic that accounted for any significant variation was length of residence,
Of those who have lived in Denton only 3 to 12 months, 66.7 percent re-
sponded that streets had many bad spots. In all the other length of
residence categories, 55 percent or less responded that streets had many
bad spots.
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Table 2
Condition of Street and Road Surfaces
(N=391)*
Rating Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
Good all over 4.3 1.8 2.1 2.0
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Mostly good 43.9 41.3 46.1 40.8
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Many bad spots 51.8 51.8 51.8 57.2
*All N's are or the 1982 survey.
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In the 1982 survey a specific question on willingness to pay for
street improvements was asked. The results presented in Table 3 suggest
a majority of those responding were in favor of additional taxes to main-
tain and improve streets.
Table 3
Favor or Oppose Additional Tax For
Street Maintenance
(N=391)
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Response Percent
t 1982 1981*
Favor 62.0 66.6
Oppose 38.0 33.4
he wor ng o fhe quest on was a tere s g t y from 'die 7981
survey.
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Those respondents more likely to favor a tax increase came from the
following groups: Those living in Denton for 5 years or less, renters,
and those in the 18-45 year age group. There was no apparent relation-
ship between income and favor'ng a tax increase.
Those who said they favored a tax increase for streets were asked
how much of a monthly increase in taxes they would accept. The results
are presented in Table 4. Table 5 presents the results to a question
on a tax increase asked in the 1981 survey where respondents were asked
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E what percent increase they would accept.
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Table 4
Size of Increase 1982
(N=157)
Response Percent i
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$ 4.00 57.3
$ 6.00 16.6
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$ 8.00 3.8
! $10.00 5.7
As much as necessary 16.6
As might be expected, in both the 1982 and 1981 surveys, the
majority of those who favored an increase selected the smallest increase
category. However, 10.3 percent in 1981 and 16.6 percent in 1982 said
they would favor whatever size increase that was necessary.
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Table 5
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Size of Increase 1981
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Response Percent
5% or less 61.7
lOX 22.9
15% Co
20% 1.1
As much as necessary
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Library and Recreational Services
Respondents were asked whether they had used the Denton Public
Library in the past 12 months and 41.8 percent said they had used the
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library. More owners than renters (49.8 percent to 32.6 percent), more
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females than :ales (46.5 percent to 35.8 percent), and more whites tnal
blacks (44.5 percent to 20.8 percent) were likely to use the library.
E In addition, those with incomes of $20,000 and above and those with some
college education were more likely to use the library than their counter-
parts.
Those respondents who used the library were asked to rate the
services offered. The results are presented in Table 6 along with the
rankings from previous surveys. The 1982 results should be more accurate,
since in each of the three other surveys all respondents, not just users,
were asked to rate library services.
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Table 6
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Ratings of library Services
(N-161)
Rating Percent
1982 1981 1960 1979
Excellent 42.9 22.7 21.6 31.6
Good 49.1 58.7 59.6 50.6
Fair 7.5 14.5 17.4 13.8
Poor 0.6 4.1 1.4 4.0
Respondents were then asked whether or not they or members of their
family had used any of Denton's park or recreational facilities during
the past 12 months and 60.7 said that they had. More renters than home-
owners (67.8 percent to 54.9 percent) and more whites than blacks (61.8
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percent to 54.2 percent) used recreational facilities. In addition, more
than 60 percent in the 18-45 age group used recreational facilities com-
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pared to 46.8 in the 46-60 age group and 28.5 in the 61 and over age
group.
Recreational facilty users were then asked to rate the facilities.
Again, the results are presented along with previous survey ratings (see
Table 7). As -•ith the library ratings, the 1982 park and recreational
ratings should be more accurate because only users were asked to rate
i the facilities, although the 1982 park and recreational ratings differ
[ only slightly from previous years.
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Table 7
Rating of Park and Recreational Facilities
(N=239)
Rating Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
Excellent 20.9 25.7 15.6 26.2
Good 64.4 57.1 65.2 55.5
Fair 13.4 14.7 16.6 15.1
Poor 1.3 2.4 2.6 3.2
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j j Garbage and Brush Collection
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The city's sanitation services continue to operate without many
serious problems according to respondents. i
Table 8
Garbage Collection Missed
(N2367)
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{ ~ Times Missed Percent
L j 1981 1980 1979
None 78.2 81.5 85.5 76.2
1•2 14.7 13.2 10.2 20.2
3-4 3.8 1.6 1.5 3.3
5 or more 3.0 3.7 2.8 3.3
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would be willing to pay higher rates
Respondents were asked if they finance a re- • increase was used to help for solid waste collection if the m. The responses to the rate
question
cycling or resource recovery system in the
are displayed in Table 9. There appears from be a 1981 to significant drop
1982.
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percentage in favor of a recovery system to
Table 9
Favor Rate Increase To
Support R sours } Recovery
percent
Response 19,82 1981
i' 49.4 61.5
Favor 50.6 38.5
Oppose
Renters, those aged 18-45, and those with one or more years of
college were more likely to favor a rate increase than were their counter-
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Oenton's crime prevention program,
Emergency Services Questions about the police,
t fire protection and the ambulance service were asked
neighborhood safe y, of emergency services4
and are discussed here under the general heading
i contact with a member
The first question asked whether respondenast112 months and 37.6 reported '
of Denton's Police Department during the past
rate
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contact the services provided
. Those who had contact were asked to
in Table 10.
by the police. The results are shown
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f Table 10
Police Service
(N-152)
Percent
Responses -
36.8
Excellent
40.1
Good
19.1
Fair
3.3
Poor
None of the descriptive characteristics proved useful in explaining
any of the ratings.
Respondents were then asked several questions about Denton's crime
prevention programs. First, they were asked whether they knew crime
prevention programs were sponsored by the Police Department and 47.7
percent said they were aware of such programs. Owners, those aged 36
years and older, and whites were more aware of the crime prevention
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programs than their counterparts.
Respondents who said they knew of crime prevention programs were
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then asked whether they had participated in any of the programs during
the past 12 months and only 14.9 percent indicated they had participated.
p Whether they had actually participated or not, respondents were asked
if they felt safer because they knew crime prevention programs were being
offered. Thirty-five percent said they did feel safer, 62.9 percent said
they felt the same as before the programs started, and 2.1 percent felt
less safe.
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Those respondents who were aware but had not participated in a crime
prevention program and those who were unaware of such programs were asked
if they were interested in participating and 64.7 percent were interested.
Respondents were also asked how safe they felt walking alone in
their neighborhoods at night. As Table 11 illustrates, there are some
slight shifts among the responses for 1981 and 1982, but the shifts are
so small that they are not likely to be significant.
Table 11
Safety o~NN ighborhood
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Percent
i Rating
1982 1981 1980 1979
f 37.0 41.0 42.1 46.0
Very Safe
38.1 32.6 29.6 29.8
Somewhat Safe
15.3 14.6 15.8 15.3
Somewhat Unsafe
9.7 11.8 12.5 8.8
Very Unsafe
felt very unsafe),females•
Older residents (33.3 in the 61 plus age group
and those in the less than $5,000 income category felt less safe than their
counterparts.
Only 1.8 percent of the respondents called the Fire Department in
the past year and their ratings of the service provided are displayed in
Table 12.
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Table 12
Fire Service Rating
(K~7}
Rating Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
Excellent 85.7 82.6 58.3 61.8
Good 14.3 4.3 29.2 20.6
Fair 0.0 4.3 0.0 14.7
Poor 0.0 8.7 12.5 2.9
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Although the number responding to this question is small, the
continued improvement in ratings, particularly since 1980, should be noted.
Similarly, those who called for an ambulance (S.l percent) were +
asked to rate that service. As with the fire service rating, the ratings 1
of the ambulance service have shown improvement in 1981 and 1982.
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Table 13
{ Ambulance Service Rating
(N ■ 20)
Rating Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
Excellent 75.0 60.6 46.9 55.2
Good 20.0 30.3 34,4 27.6
Fair 5.0 G.1 3.1 3.4
Poor 0.0 3.0 15.6 13.8
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Animal Control
In the 1982 survey, 13.5 percent of the respondents indicated that
they had called the city about an animal control problem. Those who
called about animal control were asked to rate the service. In the 1981
survey all respondents were asked to rate Denton's animal control service.
Table 14
Animal Control Ratings
(N = 351)
t Response Percent
~ 1982 1981
Excellent 17.9 8.8
Good 37.5 37.9
Fair 17.9 29.9
Poor 26.8 23.4
j } Service Ratings
} In this section the responses to two questions about six basic
city services are presented. The first question asked whether much,
some, or no improvement was needed for each service and the second asked
whether the service should be reduced if that were the only way to keep
taxes and rates at their present levels.
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The responses to the question about service improvement are
presented in Table 15. The responses are ranked from the highest to
lowest based on the percent responding "much improvement." In the
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fourth column, headed M + S, the "much improvement" and "some improvement"
responses have been summed to obtain the total percentage of respondents
who felt the service needed improvement.
Table 15
Service Improvement 1982
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Rank Service Pluch Sane No M + S
I Street Maintenance 36.9 52.3 10.8 89.2
(N=390)
2 Police 4.6 43.1 52.3 47.7
(N=369)
k 3 Garbage Collection 3.7 28.9 67.4 32.6
(N=314)
4 Recreation 3.1 37.3 59.6 40.4
(N=324)
5 Fire 1.5 29.4 69.1 30.9
(N=337)
6 library 0.8 24.5 74.7 25.3
(N=257)
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There is an obvious and significant drop from street maintenance,
where 41.1 percent stated much improvement was needed, to police, where
only 4.6 percent responded similarly. Looking at the M + S column, only
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for street maintenance did a majority see a need for improvement. And
only for police and recreational services did 40 percent or more see the
need for some improvement.
Although none of the descriptive characteristics detail the re-
sponses to each service category, some of the services did have
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particular groups of detractors. Those in the 18-25 age group saw more
problems with street maintenance than did older residents. Also, 34.2
percent of the 18.25 age group thought street maintenance needed much
improvement, while only 7.5 percent of those 61 and older responded
similarly. Blacks, females, and renters were more like'sy to respond
tnet police protection neeced much improvement than did their counterparts.
Finally, higher percentages of renters, those 45 years of age and younger,
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and males saw recreational services as reeding much or some improvement
j than did their counterparts.
In Tables 16, 17, and 18 the service ratings obtained in 1981,
1980, and 1979 are presented. The same ranking procedure discussed
above is used here.
Table 16
Service Improvement 1981
Rank Service Much Some No M + S
1 Street Maintenance 36.9 52.3 10.8 89.2
2 Police 4.6 43.1 52.3 52.3
3 library and
Recreation 4.4 38.5 57.2 42.9
4 Fire 2.6 29.6 67.8 32.2
5 Garbage Collection 2.1 39.0 58.9 41.1
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Table 17
Service Improvement 1980
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Rank Service Much Some No M + S
1 Street Maintenance 40.2 44.1 15.6 84.3
2 Recreation 7.8 46.1 46.1 53.9
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3 Police 7.2 46.6 46.2 53.8 s
4 Garbage 5.7 41.9 52.4 47.6
~I 5 Library 2.2 27.4 70.4 29.6
6 Fire 1.5 26.7 71.8 28.2 ;
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Table 18
Service Improvement 1979
Rank Service Much Some No M + S
1 Street Maintenance 48.1 34.6 17.3 82.7
2 Recreation 7.3 29.6 63.1 36.9
3 Police 6.5 29.2 64.3 35.7
4 Garbage 3.8 28.8 67.4 32.6
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5 Library 3.5 25.3 71.2 29.8
6 Fire 2.7 18.9 78.4 21.6
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The most obvious conclusion from the four data sets is that streets
consistently are ranked numh-r one by a large number of respondents.
Shifts in the rankings for the other services has occurred over the four
surveys, however, the percentages involved in the "much improvement"
category are small, and the logical conclusion is that the remaining services
are really seen as similar in terms of the amount of improvement needed.
Service Reductions
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Respondents were read the six services again and they were asked
whether they would favor reducing any of them in order to keep taxes
and rates the same as they are today. The services are ranked from
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the highest to lowest percent saying "yes" in the 1982 survey.
i Table 19
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I Percent Responding Service Should Be Reduced
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Rank Service 1982 1981 1980 1979
I Recreation 40.9 33.6* 42.3 25.4
(N=350)
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2 Library 38.4 33.6* 35.2 20.1
(N=341)
3 Garbage Collection 30.1 24.7 22.4 17.0
(Nu376)
4 Street Maintenance 1917 12.0 15.9 10.7
{ 5 Police 4.4 5.4 11.5 8.3
(N=386)
6 Fire 3.7 3.4 8.4 6.8
(N•383)
n the 1981 survey recreation and library servRes were combined
into one question.
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Although a majority was not found to favor reducing any service, the
order of reductions has remained the same for all four years.
City Administration
Respondents were asked whether they had contacted any city official;
about a complaint, a request for service, or for information in the past
12 months and 21.0 percent said they had contacted a city official. Those
who had made a contact were then asked who they contacted, whether they
were satisfied with the results, and whether the individual was helpful.
Table 20 presents the responses to all three questions.
Table 20
Contact with City
Percent '
Office Contacted (N=78)
1982 1981 ,1980 1979
City Manager 6.4 6.0 8.3 5.3
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Mayor or Council 6.4 4.6 6.0 7.6
LL Police 12.8 11.9 15.7 15.2
1 City-Attorney 5.1 3.3 1.7
Utility Billing 19.2 16.5 43.8.
Utility Service 32.1 30.5 26.4
37.2 24.5 24.8 28.1
Other
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Table 20 (Copt,)
Contact With City
Satisfaction (N 75) Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
Satisfied 71.2 67.3 66.1 65.7
Not Satisfied 21.2 31.5 33.1 38.2
Not Complete 7.5 1.2 0.8 4.1
Opinion of Contact (N 76)
Helpful 86.1 83.0 81.6 79.9
Not Helpful 13.9 17.0 18,4 20.1 a
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More owners (25.9 percent) than renters (15.3 percent) and more whites i
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(21.8 percent) than blacks (12.5 percent) contacted the city. The response
patterns for the office contacted, the degree of satisfaction, and the
opinion of the contact have remained constant over the four surveys.
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In the 1982 survey several questions about utility billings were
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asked. First, respondents were asked whether they had experienced a
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problem with their utility bill in the past 12 months and 28.5 percent
said yes. Those who had a problem were then asked what the problem was
and 53,8 percent responded "incorrect billing," 20.8 said "meter reading
error," 3.8 said "payment was not credited," and less than one percent had }
received a delinquent payment notice in error. Finally$ respondents were
asked if the problem was satisfactorily resolved and 53.2 percent said that
it was resolved. Although the questions are worded differently, there is a
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significant difference between the 53.2 percent who said their utility
bill problem was resolved and the 71.2 percent in Table 2D who said
they were satisfied with the city's response.
In the final question on city administration, respondents were asked
to rate the way the city was run. The results are presented in Table 21.
Table 21
How Well is Denton Run?
(N = 366)
Rating Percent
' 1982 1981 1980 1979
Excellent 10.1 8.1 6.3 9.7
Good 61.9 60.9 58.5 47.6
Fair 24.1 26.8 32.0 32.4
3 Poor 3.9 4.2 3.2 10.3
Although for each year the differences between percentages in each
rating category is small, if you sum the excellent and good categories,
there has been a steady improvement from 57,3 percent in 1979 to 72 per-
cent in 1982.
Information J
This section of the report concerns the information citizens have
about Denton, whether they have cable television service in their home,
and whether they are satisfied with the cable service. Respondents were f
first asked whether they had enough information about the issues and
' problems faring Denton and its citizens. The following responses were
obtained.
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Table 22
Do You Have Enough Information?
(N - 380)
Response Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
f Yes 62.6 60.5 59.1 48.7
No 37.3 39.5 40.6 51.3
Forty-six percent of the renters as compared to 30 percent of the
homeowners and 43 percent of the blacks compared to 35.4 percent of the
whites said they did not receive enough information.
Respondents were then asked if they had cable television service in
their home. Fifty-one pertan,t said they had cable service. In 1981, 43
percent of the respondents had cable service. 'Ahen the descriptive
characteristics are examined distinct differences emerge. Fifty-five
percent of homeowners have cable television as compared to 47 percent of
i the rentersi 53 percent of the white respondents had cable service as
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compared to 41 percent of black respondents; and more than 50 percent in
i each age category up to 60 years had cable service, but only 35 percent
in the 61 and older group had cable television.
Those who had cable service were then asked if they were satisfied
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with the service and 75.4 percent said they were satisfied.
Appearance of Denton
This section of the report presents the responses to a series of E
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questions about Denton as a place to live. First, new residents (less
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than one year) were asked why they moved to Denton. Although there were
only 23 people in this category, most said either a job (35 percent) or
college (5G percent) caused them to move to Denton.
A second question dealt with the appearance of neighborhoods.
Table 23 presents the responses to the question that asked respondents
to rate their neighborhood in term, of cleanliness, quality of houses,
and general appearance.
Table 23
Neighborhood Rating
(N = 393)
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Rating Percent
1982 1981
Excellent 25.3 24.2
Good 51.0 48.7
Fair 20.4 23.2
Poor 3.3 3.7
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Homeowners, whites, and those with incomes of $35,000 and above were
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much more likely to rate their neighborhood as excellent than were their
counterparts.
Respondents were asked whether portable advertising signs, litter,
dirty neighborhoods, junked cars, abandoned houses and lack of green space
in business areas detracted from the beauty of Oenton. The following re-
sponses were obtained. j
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Table 24
Appearance of Denton
Detraction i~arcent Responding Yes
1982 1981 1980
Signs (N=377) 53.6 48.3 46.9
Litter (N=389) 79.4 72.6 64.5
Dirty Neighborhoods (N=374) 82.1 75.4 65.2
Junk Cars (N=358) 77.1
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Abandoned houses (N■358) 77.9
Lack of green space in business areas (N=377) 54.9
Respondents were also asked whether they thought the city should
require developers to put side-walks in all new neighborhoods and 77
percent responded yes.
Respondents were then asked how they rated Denton as a place to
live and the mutts of that question are displayed in Table 25.
Table 25
Rating Of Denton As A Place To Live
(N•394)
Rating Percent
1982 1981 1980 1979
Excellent 39.1 45.2 35.5 45.3
Good 50.5 45.0 52.4 42.2
Fair 9.4 8.5 10.9 10.5
E Poor 1.0 1.2 1.2 2.0
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Generally, Denton residents continue to rate Denton as an "excellent"
to "good" place to live. Specifically, more homeowners than renters (49
to 27 percent), more whites than blacks (40 to 25 percent), and those with
higher incomes rate Denton as an excellent place to live.
Energy Consumption
In the 1982 survey several questions about energy consumption were
included. First, respondents were asked whether they had taken any steps
to reduce their consumption of electricity, natural gas, or gasoline
during the past 12 months and a large majority (87.7 percent) said they
had done something to reduce consumption. Respondents were then read a
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list of nine energy saving activities and they were askel which of the
activities they had undertaken (see Table 26). j
Table 26 i
Energy Reduction Activities
Activity Percent Responding Yes
Change thermostat setting (W34) 83.3
Reduce temperature of hot water heater (N■340) 47.6
46.4
Caulk windows and doors (N■343)
}
Purchase fuel efficient car (N9346) 37.0
Add insulation (N=337 377.0
) 26.9
Participate in carpool (N■346) 23.5
Add storm windows and doors (N■341) 14.6
Replace air conditioner (N■336) ,
i Add solar equipment (N■341) 9._..
Although high percentages of renters altered their thermostat setting
and fairly equal percentages of renters and owners participated in a
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carpool and purchased a more fuel efficient car, as might be expected,
owners were far more likely than renters to take the other steps that
required personal expense and effort (caulking, storm windows, and re-
placing tooting equipment). Income was not consistently related to any
particular energy saving steps.
Finally, respondents were asked if they planned to do anything
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during the next 12 months to reduce energy consumption. Respondents +
were rot read a list but were simply allowed to state what they were
going to do. A total of 55 percent said they planned to do nothing.
The other responses were scattered among various steps with none
totaling more than B percent, Adding storm windows was most often
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mentioned (1.3 percent), followed by a car purchase (5.6 percent),
adding insulation (4.1), and caulking (3.5). These results suggests ,
that most individuals have already taken most of the steps they intended i
i to take to reduce energy consumption.
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Summary
The usefulness of the survey continues to increase. Trends and
patterns are developing and it is becoming possible to identify deviations
from past findings that suggest trouble spots or areas that require some
attention. That only slight changes have occurred in response patterns
to many questions help in setting typical response patterns than can then
ii be used as benchmarks to aid in discovering deviations in the future.
As in previous surveys every attempt has been made to offer the
findings in an objective fashion. Where appropriate, the descriptive
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characteristics have been utilized to provide greater detail to the
responses. This standardized reporting format should make the report
and the information it contains more useful to the staff and council.
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