Americans favor walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, with 56% of respondents preferring smart growth neighborhoods over neighborhoods that require more driving between home, work, and recreation. That’s according to a recent study, the Community Preference Survey, by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Walkable communities are defined as those where shops, restaurants, and local businesses are within walking distance from homes. According to the survey, when considering a home purchase:

• 77% of respondents said they’d look for neighborhoods with abundant sidewalks and other pedestrian-friendly features.

• 50% would like to see improvements to existing public transportation rather than initiatives to build new roads and developments.   

Many are willing to sacrifice square footage for less driving:

• 80% of those surveyed would prefer to live in a single-family, detached home as long as it didn’t require a longer commute.

• 59%—nearly three out of five of those surveyed—would choose a smaller home if it meant a commute time of 20 minutes or less.

Community characteristics are very important to most people:

• 88% of respondents placed more value on the quality of the neighborhood than the size of the home.

• 77% of those surveyed want communities with high-quality schools.

The survey of 2,071 adult Americans was conducted by Belden, Russonello and Stewart from February 15-24, 2011. 

Source: NAR