Trend Analysis 2007
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This year we conducted the second survey in many of our neighborhoods. In order to assess the differences between the years, we analyzed the findings. These can be found below.
Findings
In each neighborhood there have been at least two street-level surveys conducted. We analyzed the findings from the most recent survey and the previous survey conducted in each neighborhood. In all neighborhoods, the most collected problems were graffiti, litter and uneven pavement. Therefore, we looked at the change in each of these three problems across all neighborhoods. The bar graph below (click on the graph to enlarge) demonstrates the changes seen in each neighborhood. Please note that the International District was not analyzed due to the large number of street-level surveys conducted in that neighborhood Additionally, geography students from the University of Washington conducted an in-depth trend analysis, to learn more click here.
For all other neighborhoods, to calculate the changes we used the data collected from June 2006 to June 2007 and subtracted this from the data collected from June 2006 to June 2006. The only exception to these years was North Beacon Hill, unfortunately there was no survey conducted from June 2006 to June 2007, therefore those numbers are the differences between the data collected in 2006 and 2004.
A bar which is positive indicates that the problem has increased, a negative change indicates that the problem has decreased. Most neighborhoods saw an increase in the amount of graffiti with Greenwood-Phinney Ridge and Lake City seeing the highest increases. Litter and uneven pavement are a little more constant. However, it is interesting to note that East Ballard, North Beacon Hill and Wallingford have seen significant decreases in the amount of uneven pavement collected. This suggests that this problem has been improving, especially as there has been significant street and sidewalk improvements made. However, it is also important to note that this methodology has its limitations. The primary limitation is that the street-level surveys do not keep an inventory of every problem, these are collected based on the community volunteers' impression of the built environment.