Sense of community
Definition
The proportion of young people aged 15 to 24 who report that they feel a sense of community in their neighbourhood and have positive contact with their neighbours, as measured by the Quality of Life Survey, 2006.
Relevance
Young people who feel a sense of community in the area in which they live are more likely to ask for and access community-provided resources, meaning they can enjoy recreation without having to travel. Where young people have good relationships with neighbourhood communities, this promotes considerate use of shared public spaces, allowing young people and older adults to socialise and enjoy recreation without conflict.
Current level
In 2006, just under half of young New Zealanders aged 15 to 24 agreed or strongly agreed that they felt “a sense of community with others in my local neighbourhood”.
49 percent of young people nationwide, and 48 percent of those living in our twelve biggest cities, agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.
Proportion of young people who feel a sense of community in their neighbourhood, 2006
Source: Quality of Life Survey, 2006.
92 percent of young people reported some level of positive contact with neighbours, and 64 percent reported a high level of positive contact “such as a visit, or asking each other for small favours”.
Differences in cause
In terms of the most frequently cited reason for not feeling a sense of community, the Quality of Life Survey found that young people were fairly similar to older age groups.
There were three exceptions: young people were less likely to cite the reason that “people have busy lives/working hard” (20 percent of young people aged 15 to 24 gave this as their most-cited reason, compared to between 28 and 40 percent of older age groups). They were more likely to cite the reason that there is a “lack of communication/events within neighbourhood” (32 percent of young people aged 15 to 24 gave this as their most cited reason, compared to between 24 and 26 percent of older age groups), or the reason that the neighbours “are not friendly/welcoming” or they did not see the neighbours.
