2008 Crossroads Charlotte Social Capital
Benchmark Community Survey

In 2001, the Charlotte Region was one of 40 communities in the nation included in the national 2001 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey. Social capital refers to how connected people are in their community, and can be measured through several dimensions, such as trust, diversity of friendships and civic engagement. Communities with high levels of social capital generally have better government services, a robust economy and its citizens are more likely to cooperate for a common cause and to be convivial to one another. Results from the 2001 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey suggest that the 14-county Charlotte Region had mixed levels of social capital. While the Charlotte Region showed low levels of social and inter-racial trust, it was more likely to be generous in terms of volunteering and contributing to charity (particularly for places of worship) than most communities that participated in the 2001 Survey. In recognition of the importance of improving the stock of social capital in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, The Foundation For The Carolinas is supporting Crossroads Charlotte , a countywide civic engagement project designed to facilitate improvements in access, inclusion, equity and trust.

As part of a comprehensive evaluation strategy that measures the effectiveness of the Crossroads Charlotte project, The Foundation For The Carolinas contracted with the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute to conduct a telephone survey to gauge the social capital levels of Mecklenburg County residents. The 2008 Crossroads Charlotte Social Capital Benchmark Survey was designed to update some of the key measures covered in the 2001 Survey as well as to establish benchmark measures directly related to Crossroads Charlotte. Specifically, the Foundation wanted to ask questions regarding survey respondents' opinions on access, inclusion and equal opportunities. A second survey will be conducted in 2011 to measure progress in these areas.

An overview of the 2008 Survey findings along with the 2008 Crossroads Charlotte Social Capital Benchmark Survey Report and the 2001 Survey Executive Summary Report are available below. In addition to presenting the frequency distributions and cross-tabulation results of respondents' answers to the 2008 Survey, analyses of the survey findings were supplemented by revisiting four indices from the 2001 Survey and establishing five new indices from the 2008 Survey. It is important to note that the 2008 Survey was not intended to be a replication of the 2001 Survey, but rather to draw from it as appropriate and to establish benchmark measures for comparison with the results from the follow-up survey scheduled for 2011.

To request access to the 2008 Survey dataset, please fill out the registration form . For further information on the 2008 Survey, please contact Eric Caratao at 704-687-2317 or visit Crossroads Charlotte or The Foundation For The Carolinas .

PUBLICATIONS

• Overview of the 2008 Crossroads Charlotte Social Capital Benchmark Survey Findings (without appendices)
• 2008 Crossroads Charlotte Social Capital Benchmark Survey Report (with appendices)
• Appendix A Respondents' Comments Regarding Crossroads Charlotte
• Appendix B Weighting Procedures and Indices Construction
• Appendix C 2008 Survey Instrument
• Appendix D Frequency Distributions (unweighted)
• Appendix E Frequency Distributions (weighted)
• 2001 Social Capital Benchmark Survey Executive Summary for the Charlotte Region

The 2001 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey was developed by Dr. Robert Putnam and researchers at the Saguaro Seminar at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government ( www.hks.harvard.edu/saguaro ).

2008 Citistates Report: Green, Great & Global

For a copy of the 1995 Peirce Report click on image above...

In 1995, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the Foundation For The Carolinas partnered with the Charlotte Observer and other regional newspapers to publish " The Peirce Report ," co-authored by syndicated columnist Neal Peirce and colleagues Curtis Johnson and Alex Marshall of The Citistates Group.

Thirteen years later, thanks to a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation , Peirce and Johnson come back to the Charlotte Region to take an in-depth look the expansive growth it has experienced. Interviewing nearly 200 people throughout Charlotte, Mecklenburg and the surrounding counties, the authors produced a series of articles, the 2008 Citistates Report, looking at public policy decisions facing the Region around leadership, growth and sustainability. Challenging its leadership and citizens to make smart decision about how the region grows, this thought-provoking analysis offers an interesting perspective on the Charlotte region’s greatly expanding opportunities and challenges, as well as recommendations on how the region should respond in order to position itself for success globally.

The Charlotte region is one of the first to experience a revisit by The Citistates Group, out of over two dozen metropolitan regions in the United States to have previously been the focus of a Citistates Report. Read more...

Part 1

September ‘08 - A 21st-century game plan for the Charlotte region
Banking’s in turmoil. Textiles are gone. What must we do to survive and thrive? The Citistates Report team offers this advice: Go green. Develop vital city centers. Welcome the world.

Part 2

October ‘08 - Region’s options: Sprawl or expand transit
The Charlotte region has a big choice - keep sprawling outward or invest in train and bus lines connecting neighborhoods and business districts.

Part 3

November ‘08 - A new Charlotte
“Charlotte is just now being born as a metropolitan community. Sure, it’s always been a city. But something bigger is happening now.

Part 4

December ‘08 - The dangers of not going green
The Catawba could dry up, farmland become scarce, air quality worsen. To become a global player, the Charlotte region must better protect its strained natural resources.

Charlotte Regional Indicators Project

The quality of life or well-being of a community is measured by many social, economic, and environmental factors. In the Charlotte region, it has become increasingly evident that these factors can only be effectively measured and addressed by crossing political boundaries and looking at the entire geographic area or region. Successful regional approaches to maintaining and enhancing the region’s quality of life require tracking and assessing trends over time... Read more...

Full report data from the Charlotte Regional Indicators Project or download PDF of 2007 Full Report

For more information on these and other UNC Charlotte Urban Institute projects, please contact Director Jeff Michael at 704-687-2307 or jmichael@uncc.edu