Palo Alto's Overall Livability Score Dips in Latest Survey

PALO ALTO, CA -- Although the quality of life in Palo Alto still receives comparatively high marks, the percentage of specific areas ranked “excellent” or “good” have declined somewhat over the past five years, according to the results from the latest annual National Citizen Survey.

The survey included questions about Palo Alto as a place to live, raise children, work, visit, retire and the quality of neighborhoods. Results from the survey are scheduled to be discussed at a City Council retreat scheduled for Feb. 2.

In 2018, the overall quality of life was rated “excellent” or “good” by 84 percent of the respondents, a five percent decline from 2017. The ratings for all quality of life questions (Question 1 in the survey) declined from one to five percentage points, except for “Palo Alto as a place to retire,” which declined by 11 percentage points. For the fourth consecutive year, less than 90 percent of respondents rated the overall quality of life as excellent or good. Despite that, 78 percent of the respondents said they are likely/somewhat likely to remain in Palo Alto for the next five years.

The annual survey is conducted by the National Research Center and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), which gathers resident opinions across a range of community issues in cities and counties across the United States. The survey focuses on gauging community sentiment on the quality of community and related services, as well as residents’ engagement level within their communities.

“The National Citizen Survey helps to both reaffirm where the City is doing well and highlight areas of focus where resident perceptions have decreased over time,” City Manager Ed Shikada said. “The value of the report is that is provides an overview of a number of the regional challenges that we face – such as affordable housing and traffic – as well as more neighborhood issues such as rates of volunteerism or civic engagement.”

While Palo Alto also ranks high in the quality of services provided by the city (82 percent), feeling of safety (91 percent), and natural environment (87 percent), the availability of affordable housing continues to rank very low (5 percent), along with traffic (28 percent) and parking (34 percent).

“This year’s survey reflects what we’re seeing in terms of citizen sentiment across the region,” said City Auditor Harriet Richardson whose office contracts with the National Research Center to conduct the survey. “While overall, Palo Alto still scores comparatively high in many ‘quality of life’ areas, housing and traffic are clearly having a challenging impact as they are rated quite low.”

A total number of 4,500 surveys were sent out to households, plus a reminder letters to complete the survey. A total of 889 households completed the survey both online and through a mailed questionnaire, according to the city.

The complete report can be read at https://www.cityofpaloalto.org...

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