More than half of Houston residents think city is headed in wrong direction: UH Hobby School survey
HOUSTON - More than half of Houston residents think the city is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new survey from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.
The survey was conducted online among 800 likely Houston voters just a few months before the November election for the city’s next mayor.
According to the survey, 53% believe the city is headed in the wrong direction, and 47% believe the city is headed in the right direction.
The survey also asked respondents about the issues they believe should be a top priority for the city’s next mayor. Crime (83%), flooding (72%), road and street conditions (65%) and the economy and jobs (65%) were among the top issues.
Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and senior research fellow at the Hobby School, noted that "there is a general consensus among Houston voters that crime should be a top priority for Houston’s next mayor, with 98% of white Republicans, 95% of Latino Republicans, 91% of Black Democrats and 79% of Latino Democrats listing crime as a top priority; white Democrats (59%) are the only group lacking unanimity on the top priority status of this issue."
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Additionally, respondents were asked about the issues that have a major negative impact on the quality of life in their neighborhood. The top issues were roads and streets in bad conditions (50%), violent crime (48%), and home and car break-ins (45%).
According to the survey, Latino and Black respondents were about twice as likely as white respondents to say issues like crime, illegal dumping and the lack of parks negatively impact quality of life.
"We found a significant divide between communities of color and people living in predominantly white neighborhoods, which suggests that both perceptions and the reality of city services may vary depending on where people live," said Renée Cross, senior executive director of the Hobby School and one of the researchers involved in the project. "But there were also some strong common threads – as voters prepare to choose a new mayor, they are thinking about basic city services, from concerns about violent crime and property crime to the condition of their neighborhood streets. They were less likely to say things such as poor air quality, the lack of parks and nearby grocery stores detract from their quality of life."
To see the full survey, click here.