Most Americans prefer having neighborhoods with larger houses and distant amenities rather than having smaller houses and more amenities in walking distance, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.
In a poll of 5,079 adults conducted last spring, 57% of respondents said they preferred living where “houses are larger and farther apart, but schools, stores and restaurants are several miles away,” while 42% said they would rather live where “houses are smaller and closer to each other, but schools, stores and restaurants are within walking distance.”
Pew then sliced and diced this data among political, age, education, and race and ethnicity. The results: White Republicans ages 30 and older who did not have bachelor’s degree were the most likely to prefer the larger house communities.
Pew also found 74% of respondents living in rural areas preferred houses that are larger and farther apart, but also farther from schools, stores and restaurants – a narrower majority of suburban Americans (56%) shred that preference, while 57% of urban dwellers liked smaller houses that are within walking distance of schools, stores and restaurants.
Not surprised that a majority prefer getting in their cars & driving rather than walking… there is a word for that but it escapes me at the moment….