Quality of Life Survey 2001 & 2007

Focus on Safety, Health, and Housing

Understanding Community Residents’ Perceptions in San Diego’s Diamond Neighborhoods

Report prepared by:Institute for Public HealthGraduate School of Public HealthSan Diego State University6505 Alvarado Road #115San Diego, California 92120(619) 594-6812http://iph.sdsu.edu

October 2008

Report Partners

Quality of Life in the “Diamond”The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI) developed the Quality of Life Survey to understand trends in perceptions of community members living in the Diamond Neighborhoods of southeastern San Diego.

By learning about the perceptions of a broad cross-section of residents about issues that may influence their quality of life – such as safety, availability of services, health, and housing – JCNI is able to frame its work to focus on key areas most relevant to the community.

Factors that may influence a person’s quality of life include:

• Individual attitudes, values, behaviors, physical health status, and where someone lives.

• Family, friends, and neighbors, including membership in social networks, perceived social support, and relationships between neighbors.

• Quality of and engagement with organizations such as schools, clubs, workplaces, unions, and civic and religious institutions.

• Physical characteristics of the neighborhood; availability of and proximity to local businesses, public services, and healthcare, and the quality of access; and community functioning.

• Government policies and legislation.

In 2001 and 2007, JCNI conducted the Quality of Life Survey (QOLS) by going door-to-door to survey community members throughout four neighborhoods located in the “Diamond” – Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Lincoln Park, and Valencia Park. These communities border the physical hub of the JCNI’s programmatic and redevelopment work, located around Market Creek Plaza, a primary area of economic and business development.

Following is a summary of what the QOLS found in three highlighted areas: safety, health, and housing.

The World Health Organization (1997) defines quality of life as: “…an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns.”

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Perceptions of CrimeOn average, community members perceived crime as an issue during both survey periods, but trends over time varied by neighborhood, age, and ethnicity differences. Overall, survey respondents were more likely to identify illegal drug dealers and users in their neighborhoods in 2007 than in 2001. All groups of respondents were significantly less likely to report police harassment as common in their neighborhoods in 2007 compared to 2001.

In 2007, 66% of respondents reported feeling safe in their neighborhoods; however, only 35% agreed that they felt safe to walk alone at night in their community. Overall, 16% of respondents in 2007 reported recent participation in a neighborhood watch or block meeting, up 4% over 2001.

Data from the Automated Regional Justice Information System (ARJIS) shows that in the period between 2001 and 2006, there was a 16% decrease in the crime index (total violent crimes, burglary, and theft) across the four neighborhoods in the survey. Violent crime was down 29%, and property crime was down 7%. By neighborhood, the crime index was down 19% in Lincoln Park, 16% in Valencia Park, up .4% in Chollas View, and down 10% in Emerald Hills.

In the last �ve years,violence in my neighborhood has...

Increased

19%

46%

34%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

In the last �ve years,safety in my neighborhood has...

Increased

35%

52%

13%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

In the last �ve years,violence in my neighborhood has...

Increased

19%

46%

34%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

In the last �ve years,safety in my neighborhood has...

Increased

35%

52%

13%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

In your opinion, your overall health for your age is...

Do you exercise regularly?

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

8% 4%

24%18%

53%

2007

In the last �ve years,healthy food options in my neighborhood have...

Increased

36%

50%

14%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

Drugs

Alcohol

Obesity

Drugs

Alcohol

Cigarettes

36%No

64%Yes

In your opinion, your overall health for your age is...

Do you exercise regularly?

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

8% 4%

24%18%

53%

2007

In the last �ve years,healthy food options in my neighborhood have...

Increased

36%

50%

14%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

Drugs

Alcohol

Obesity

Drugs

Alcohol

Cigarettes

36%No

64%Yes

Health & LifestylesSixty-four percent of respondents reported exercising regularly, but only about half of all respondents thought that other people in the neighborhood also exercise on a regular basis. About 60% of respondents identified places in their neighborhoods to exercise.

In your opinion, your overall health for your age is...

Do you exercise regularly?

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

8% 4%

24%18%

53%

2007

In the last �ve years,healthy food options in my neighborhood have...

Increased

36%

50%

14%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

Drugs

Alcohol

Obesity

Drugs

Alcohol

Cigarettes

36%No

64%Yes

Health Risk PerceptionsIn 2007, community members identified that the three biggest health risks to children younger than age 18 in their neighborhoods to be: 1) drugs; 2) alcohol; and 3) obesity; cigarettes and diabetes followed in the ranking.

The three biggest health risks to adults in their neighborhood age 18 and older to be 1) alcohol; 2) drugs; and 3) cigarettes; diabetes and obesity followed in the ranking.

In your opinion, your overall health for your age is...

Do you exercise regularly?

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

8% 4%

24%18%

53%

2007

In the last �ve years,healthy food options in my neighborhood have...

Increased

36%

50%

14%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

Drugs

Alcohol

Obesity

Drugs

Alcohol

Cigarettes

36%No

64%Yes

In your opinion, your overall health for your age is...

Do you exercise regularly?

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

8% 4%

24%18%

53%

2007

In the last �ve years,healthy food options in my neighborhood have...

Increased

36%

50%

14%

Stayedabout the sameDecreased

2007

Drugs

Alcohol

Obesity

Drugs

Alcohol

Cigarettes

36%No

64%Yes

In 2004, the most recent data from the San Diego County Public Health Services reflects higher rates of disease linked to obesity in southeastern San Diego than the rest of the County. In southeastern San Diego, there is a 14% higher rate of coronary heart disease hospitalizations than County statistics, as well as 58% higher rate of diabetes hospitalizations and 60% higher rate of death due to diabetes. However, the incidence of lung cancer, which is linked to smoking, is actually 35% lower in southeastern San Diego than the County at large.

HousingRespondents also had increasingly positive perceptions relative to housing between the two survey periods, including the ability of residents to get loans to improve their homes, increased awareness of local housing assistance and services, and a higher rating of these services. Additionally, over 56% of respondents in 2007 agreed or strongly agreed that community members could get loans to purchase homes.

Data from the same time period showed:❖❖ Mortgage data supports the positive perception that 2007 QOLS respondents had relative to the increased ability to get loans to purchase or improve homes between 2001 and 2007. The number of home loan denials decreased by 66% when comparing 2001 to 2007 data. The number of refinancing loans that were denied in the neighborhood also decreased significantly. The average value of the refinancing loans in 2007 also more than doubled when compared to the 2001 average value. *

❖❖ The increased ability to access home loans in the neighborhood may have seemed like a positive sign in 2007, but in retrospect it may have actually led to the housing market crisis at the end of the decade.

❖❖ In 2001, when the first QOLS was conducted, the housing market in San Diego was rebounding from a bottoming out which occurred in the mid-1990s. The average sales price in the neighborhood in 2001 was $200,000. As the second QOLS was completed in June 2007, the average purchase price in the neighborhood was above $400,000. This was double the average purchase price when the survey was conducted in 2001, but below the 2005 peak price of $477,000. This trend is consistent with what was happening in the San Diego region overall.

❖❖ The accelerated increase in housing values was due to a number of factors – low interest rates, a good economy, the availability of credit and a limited supply of housing. In low income neighborhoods in particular it was the availability of credit, with the rise of the subprime mortgage market, which led to the rise in housing prices. Subprime loans offer financing to those who do not meet traditional lending standards.

❖❖ It wasn’t until months after the 2007 QOLS was completed that home prices began to decrease sharply. This dramatic drop in the housing market and the economy in general has been linked to the same subprime mortgages that helped create the rise in values.**

❖❖ San Diego County’s notices of default, which is the start of the foreclosure process, rose 128 percent in 2007 and foreclosures rose 353 percent. ***

* Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Aggregated Statistics** “What Subprime Has Giveth, Subprime Has Taketh Away” Voice of San Diego, November 28, 2007 www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/02/04/housing/903dataparty112807.txt*** “Surging foreclosure rate drives latest sales tactic” San Diego Union Tribune, January 27, 2008 www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080127/ news_1m27tour.html

ConclusionOverall, perceptions of neighborhood change remained positive in 2007, with over 50% of respondents stating that their community had changed for the better over the past five years.

From 2001 to 2007, perceptions about how the neighborhood will change in the future improved significantly among 1) adults over age 25; 2) respondents in households with children younger than age 18; 3) Hispanics; 4) females; 5) those who had lived in the neighborhood for five years or longer; and 6) residents of Chollas View and 7) Lincoln Park.

Fifty-four percent of participants in 2007 stated that they planned to live in the neighborhood “forever;” an additional 8% responded that they would live there until retirement.

Average Purchase Price Diamond Zip Codes

404 Euclid Ave., San Diego, CA 92114Phone: (619) 527-6161 or (800) 550-6856 / Fax: (619) 527-6162www.jacobsfamilyfoundation.org / www.jacobscenter.org©Feb. 2010. All Rights Reserved.

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