Ease of Access to Shops and Services
Living in neighborhoods with easy access to grocery stores and services such as libraries and senior centers as well as to restaurants and entertainment can make daily life less stressful.
• In a 2007 survey, King County adults were asked their level of satisfaction with access to grocery stores, restaurants, and entertainment in their neighborhood. (figure 1) In general, three-fourths of respondents were satisfied with their access to these amenities.
• Satisfaction with access to grocery stores tended to be higher than with access to restaurants or entertainment.
• There were no significant differences in satisfaction between regions, or between 2007 and 2004 when the survey was previously conducted (data not shown).
• Those ages 65 and older expressed more satisfaction with their access to entertainment than those ages 25-44.
• Those with a high school education or less expressed more satisfaction with their access to restaurants than those with a college education. (figure 2) There were no differences by race/ethnicity, gender or income.
Data Source, Definitions, and Limitations
The measures of satisfaction with neighborhood access to grocery stores, restaurants and entertainment are from the King County Community Health Survey, 2007, and were adapted from Frank, L, Sallis, J and Saelens, B, “The Neighborhood Quality of Life Survey”. This telephone survey of adults living in King County was conducted in English and Spanish. The limitations of an English-and-Spanish-only telephone survey include the following: a) people who do not have a land line telephone or who do not speak English or Spanish are excluded, and b) people who have less education and lower incomes are underrepresented.
