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Indicator: Neighborhood Gathering Places

Upstream Indicators
  •   Acres of Urban Parks and Open Space --- Following a dip in the late 1990's, there has been an increase in urban parks and open space acreage per King County resident over the last 10 years. In 2006, the urban area of King County had about 15 acres of park or open space for every thousand residents, a slight decrease from 2005.   (view data graph)
  •   Housing Affordability by City --- Homes prices have increased at a greater rate than incomes over the last two decades, making home ownership less affordable. However, rents have increased at a slower rate, generally in line with median household incomes.  (view data graph)
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Downstream Indicators
  •   Perceived Neighborhood Safety --- The average level of perceived neighborhood safety among King County residents in 2007 was not significantly different from 2001. Levels of perceived safety are not equal among regions or different populations.  (view data graph)
  •   Housing AND Transportation Costs as a Percentage of Budget --- There is no on-going reporting for this indicator broken down for King County or the Central Puget Sound, though there are multiple data sources showing that the costs of transportation and housing are going up in the region. Recent hikes in gas prices indicate that these costs will continue to escalate.  (view data graph)
  •   Prevalence of Overweight & Obese Adults --- The proportion of King County adults who are overweight and obese continues to climb. • The combined percent of overweight and obese adults has increased in each of the four regions of King County since 1994.  (view data graph)
  •   Vehicle Miles Traveled --- In 2007, VMT for the Puget Sound region increased by 0.6 percent over 2006, continuing an almost 30-year trend. Annual VMT has decreased only three times since 1980 when the first estimates became available.  (view data graph)
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Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

The everyday social life of neighborhoods is found in its gathering places. Inclusive spaces where neighbors can play, meet others, organize themselves to work together on projects and activities, shoot the breeze, and watch the world go by, perform the valuable community service of fostering social ties. These gathering places might be built, semi-open or open green spaces. Open gathering spaces include parks, pea patches and waterfronts while built environment gathering places include libraries, community centers, performance auditoriums, theaters and so on. Other favorite focal points of neighborhood life include businesses such as nail parlors and barbershops and our region’s ubiquitous coffee houses.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Undefined measure. Potential indicator: Households within ¼ mile of neighborhood center (accessibility to a neighborhood center). The number of households within ¼ mile of a neighborhood center is a measure of the accessibility to a neighborhood gathering place or location that defines an area’s “sense of place.”

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

 

Data Source and Limitations

 

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