People who live, work or go to school in Riverside are invited to express their opinions about critical issues affecting quality of life in an online survey available from May 31 through July 1 on the city’s website.
The survey, commissioned by the City of Riverside and designed by the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at California State University, San Bernardino, invites participants to weigh in on Riverside’s “areas of excellence and areas of needed improvement” in employment, recreation, arts and culture, city services, education, and other topics, as well as the city’s track record on addressing issues like public safety and homelessness. In addition to city residents, people who work in Riverside and live elsewhere are invited to participate, as well as out-of-town students attending college in the city.
Sample questions touch on the city’s attractiveness, whether survey participants consider Riverside a good place to work, what they think about the quality of schools in their neighborhoods, and if they feel Riverside is a place where they can realize their future goals.
Dr. Barbara Sirotnik, director of the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis, reached by phone, said this was the fourth time the city had contracted with the Institute to conduct the survey, with a three-year gap between each campaign. Dr. Sirotnik said past Riverside surveys have drawn between 1,000 to 2,000 responses, but that in some communities where the Institute has conducted surveys, such as the high desert, strong community relations and social media efforts have garnered up to 13,000 responses.
The instructions provided on the web page explain that participants’ answers and identities are confidential, and estimate the average time to complete the survey at about 15 minutes. Survey results will be available later in 2022. Results from the 2019 quality of life survey can be found on the city’s website.
