City Trees and Your Neighborhood Survey

USDA Forest Service OMB no. 0596-NEW

(Expires XX-XX-201X)

City Trees and Your Neighborhood

[Before the Interviewer engages with residents, the data collector should select the appropriate ParcelID from the Samsung Galaxy tablet.

Hi, I’m a student at Morehouse College and am working with the college’s Urban Studies Program in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service to conduct a survey of Atlanta residents’ attitudes about neighborhood trees. A letter was sent to your address last week explaining that someone from Morehouse College would stop by to ask for participation in the survey.

Would it be possible to speak with the person currently at home 18 or older who most recently had a birthday?

[If you are already speaking with the appropriate adult, continue reading the introduction.]

[If the appropriate adult comes to the door, repeat first paragraph and continue below.]

[If the adult with the most recent birthday is not available, schedule a time to return.]

[If the person who answers the door refuses to allow you to speak to the person 18 older, record contact as a “refused” in question 32.

Morehouse College is conducting a survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, on residents’ interest in city trees in their neighborhoods. Researchers would like to understand better how people’s attitudes and concerns about trees may affect environmental quality in the neighborhoods where people live.

This information will help Morehouse’s Department of Urban Planning develop ways to include people’s opinions about trees into its urban planning curriculum and also to develop better planning models that may be used to advise city planning. Results from this survey will be combined with data collected earlier on the number and kinds of trees in this neighborhood. The U.S. Forest Service will also use this information to develop a better understanding of residents’ interest in city trees; it will also provide some indications of how the agency can better partner with urban communities to protect and promote urban greening.

The survey should take 15 minutes or less to complete, including time to hear these instructions. Participation in this survey is voluntary, and you may skip any question or stop responding at any time. The answers you provide will be kept strictly confidential. If you have any questions about the survey, you may contact Dr. Ebenezer Aka at Morehouse College or Dr. Cassandra Johnson Gaither with the U.S. Forest Service. Their contact information and other information about the survey are on this sheet.

[Hand information sheet to respondent].

If the survey is completed today, this is the only time you will be contacted about this survey; there are no follow-ups. Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Is this a good time to answer a few questions?

[If yes, continue below, if not, reschedule interview.]

Response Drop down:

Refused

Bad address

Reschedule___________________

Survey started but not completed (indicate why not)_________________________

Survey completed (indicate at end of survey)

I’ll start out with a few questions about your neighborhood, move to questions about trees in your neighborhood and the city, and finally ask you a few questions about yourself. When I ask about your “neighborhood,” I’m talking about the Neighborhood Planning Unit or NPU that you live in. For you, this is roughly the area between [streets demarcating NPU boundaries are populated].

1. Is there a neighborhood or community improvement group in your neighborhood? For example, is there an organized group that organizes neighborhood yard sales or festivals, or acts as a Watch Group to help prevent crimes?

 Yes

 No (skip to question 4)

 Not now, but there was in the past (skip to question 4)

 I don’t know (skip to question 4)

2. How active is this group in addressing neighborhood or community issues?

 Very active

 Somewhat active

 Not very involved

 I don’t know

3. How active are you in this neighborhood improvement group?

 Very active

 Somewhat active

 Not very involved

[Interviewer, read these instructions slowly to the respondent.]

Now, on a scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, please tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. You can also say “no opinion” or “don’t know.”

The answer options are: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, No opinion, Agree, Strongly Agree, or Don’t Know.

Here’s the first statement.

4. I am willing to contribute my time or money to help maintain trees around my home.

Do you:

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

5. In my opinion, tree planting and care done by the city is a low priority for people in my neighborhood because people here would like the city to address other concerns.

Do you:

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

6. I often see people in my neighborhood caring for trees in their yards.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

7. There are no parks in my neighborhood to protect.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

8. In my opinion, people in my neighborhood are simply not that interested in organizing community projects to plant more trees in this neighborhood.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

9. City parks should not be protected if that park space could be used for businesses that bring jobs to a community.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

10. I would be willing to join an organization that promoted tree planting in my neighborhood.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

11. I would like to see Atlanta preserve more city trees even if this means less house building in the city.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

12. I don’t think people in my neighborhood have the skills or political connections to demand that the city plant more trees in this neighborhood. A

SDA DA N A SA DK

13. I know others in my neighborhood who work as hard as I do to preserve neighborhood trees.

SDA DA N A SA DK

14. I think community residents should join together to help decide how many parks or trees the city should establish in a neighborhood.

SDA DA N A SA DK

15. I have a personal attachment to the trees in my yard.

SDA DA N A SA DK

16. I am willing to help plant and care for trees in my neighborhood because of the many values trees have.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

17. Most people in my neighborhood like parks in other parts of the city better than the ones in our neighborhood.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

18. Concern and care for Atlanta’s trees must be balanced with the need for economic growth in the city.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

19. Creating new parks in the city reduces the number of available homes, which increases housing prices.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

20. My family likes to spend time at a park in our neighborhood.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

21. I often attend public meetings to voice my concern about environmental quality in my neighborhood.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

22. I have no interest in planting a tree in my yard.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

23. I am very attached to a special place in my neighborhood that has trees.

SDA DA N A SA DK

1 2 3 4 5 6

24. Now, I’ll read a list of some of the most pressing concerns in communities across the country. Please tell me which ones are problems for your neighborhood. You may reply with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ after each choice is read, and there is no limit to the number of answers you may choose. [Interviewer, check all that apply.]

• high unemployment

• crime or violence

• neighborhood gentrification [This means when higher income residents move into a neighborhood and the housing values increase as a result.]

• illegal dumping of trash

• lack of sidewalks

• quality of public education

• lack of public transportation

• lack of affordable housing

• lack of nutritious food sources (grocery stores)

• poor storm water management [This happens when rainwater is not properly channeled and can result in standing water or flooded streets.]

• air pollution

• lack of public parks for recreation

• lack of code enforcements [This happens when residents do not comply with city ordinances regulating things like up property maintenance.]

• vagrancy/loitering [People aimlessly wandering or standing in public places.]

• other (write response) ____________________________________________________

Lastly, we’d like to get some information about you. This is strictly optional and you may skip any question you do not wish to answer.

25. What is your gender?

 Male  Female  Decline to answer

26. What is your age range?

 18-30

 31-45

 46-64

 65 +

Decline to answer

27. How long have you lived in this neighborhood?

 less than 1 year

 1 to 5 years

 6 to 10 years

 10 to 20 years

 more than 20 years

28. What is your ethnicity?

• Hispanic or Latino

• Not Hispanic or Latino

• Decline to answer

29. What is your race? You may choose more than one.

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

• White

• Other (specify)

• Decline to answer

30. What is the highest level of education you completed?

• 11th grade or less

• High school graduate (diploma or GED)

• Associate’s degree/technical school graduate

• Bachelor’s degree

• Advanced or professional degree (Master’s, doctorate, law, etc)

• Decline to answer

31. Do you have any comments or questions about the survey? [Interviewer should record response, if any.]

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

32. [Interviewer, indicate the outcome of the visit with the following numerical codes on

the tablet:

1=survey completed

2=survey started but not completed

3=reschedule or no one home

4=refused

5=bad address (no such address, condemned property, commercial property, etc.)

Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0596-NEW. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 15 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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