submitted by Life in the Heartland
Residents consider safety/emergency response as the best-managed issue in the region, followed by water quality/quantity management, industrial noise, industrial light, and air quality, according to a recent public perception survey of Heartland residents. Commissioned by the partners of Life in the Heartland, a telephone survey conducted in October of this year canvassed 400 randomly selected adult residents living within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. The same survey was done in 2015, 2017, and 2019, allowing for trend comparisons to be made.
The 2022 survey shows that infrastructure and air quality are the most important issues facing Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. Inflation was the next most important issue identified by respondents, trending upwards from previous surveys. The management of jobs and employment opportunities made the most significant jump in a positive direction, with more than half of respondents (51%) saying it was managed excellently or good. This is an increase of 19% from the 2019 survey.
Interest in community investment and transportation continued to trend downwards as areas of interest compared to past surveys. Interest in industrial development increased among all issues in 2022, while the level of interest in safety/emergency response decreased. The perception of air quality trended upwards in 2022 compared to previous surveys, with 94% of respondents rating air quality as average or better.
In 2022, nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) are aware of a safety precaution called Shelter in Place, an increase of 19% from 2019 and 26% from 2017. A vast majority (90%) of residents said they are very or somewhat prepared to look after their household’s immediate needs for 72 hours in the event of an emergency, but only 55% said they were prepared to evacuate with an emergency kit of essentials on hand.
“The results of this public perception survey provide valuable insight into the issues of importance facing our community and will help guide our public information and awareness efforts,” said Sheena Fitzpatrick, Community Engagement Director of Life in the Heartland.
To download the 2022 survey and previous survey results, visit www.lifeintheheartland.com, email info@lifeintheheartland.com, or follow LITH on social media via facebook.com/lifeintheheartland, linkedin.com/company/life-in-the-heartland/ and @LifeinHeartland on Twitter.
Life in the Heartland is a collaborative communications initiative providing residents with easy access to information about local industry operations and activities in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland region. Life in the Heartland was created in 2009 by four partner organizations: Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association, Fort Air Partnership, Northeast Capital Industrial Association and Northeast Region Community Awareness Emergency Response.
