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Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

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We posted a link to the survey on the main website, on the blog, the Living on the Edge site, and tweeted it out. That got a total 182 responses, with many good, insightful comments. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Here’s a summary of the results:

(sorry for the poor quality of the images. I used print screen to capture them from Google and I don’t think that was the best way.)

How closely did you follow the articles in the newspaper?

image1 Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

How closely did you follow the Living on the Edge blog?

image2 Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

How closely did you follow the Living on the Edge mapping projects?

image3 Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

How would you rate the content of the articles that came out of Living on the Edge?

image4 Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

What did you like / dislike? (a selection of the many comments given)

This is the first I heard of the series.

Seemed odd that there was such a imbalance with the realities of the carbon constrained future of the city involved in the stories. Suburbia looked quite attractive in most of the pieces and I felt like little to no mention of the high energy footprints of commuters or location INefficient households was given.

Everything – these articles were well written and researched unlike so much in the media these days. And thoughtful.

I liked the focus on communities and how local it was. Interesting to read about others’ experiences living in Edmonton

The series seemed to make those who live in the suburbs seem like unknown outsiders. They pay taxes and claim residence in the same city as people in the core. Don’t treat them like some kind of discovery centre exhibit.

The series was completely unique to Edmonton’s media scene, but also highly relevant to Edmontonians’ lifestyles. I’d like to see this as an ongoing, permanent feature. The use of social media by Elise Stolte to connect with readers and potential subjects was excellent.

Really liked the focus on the burbs and the issues and stories they have today. Especially in a time when it is more and more “politically correct” to want denser development and infill, it is important to recognize that suburbia remains a valid lifestyle choice for a majority of our residents and new comers.

I enjoyed Elise’s reporting style. Most interested in issues of urban design, LRT/transit issues, non car lifestyles.

I noticed that reader comments were on topic and intelligent, unlike the comments found after other articles in your publication.

I applaud this effort to try and balance out some of the mounting biases at the Journal against suburban neighbourhoods and communities. These biases are deep-rooted with the columnists and editorialists.

I live downtown and am against urban sprawl, so when this series first came out, I thought I would hate it. The concept seemed to glorify the things that I don’t like — promoting a concept that “living on the edge” is the best place to be. However, after reading some of the articles, I was quite impressed with the balance of the opinions presented. While it still may have glorified sprawl to some extent, it presented a much more humanized depiction of “suburb” living. Overall, I enjoyed what I read in the series, and felt that it helped me create a more balanced opinion.

I really appreciated that the Journal has finally recognized there is life and soul and community spirit outside the downtown core despite how the suburbs are demonized by some of your columnists and by some our city councilors. This feature just scratched the surface of what is going on in these communities.

I liked watching stories start in the blog or on Twitter and evolve. You found stories I wouldn’t have otherwise heard, and there was a great variety.

I didn’t know about the series until the survey came out. Also the map at first did not work for me. Honestly I missed the entire thing, which is weird considering I’m on this site daily.

I visit the Edmonton Journal Website every, single day and I have NEVER heard of this series until today when i saw a link for the survey. Obviously in my case, this was a very poorly advertised series and therefore a disappointment.

Looked forward to the articles, but found they presented a very shallow analysis/overview of issues. Was hoping for something that was new/interesting/more in-depth, rather than a re-hash of the same old arguments.

I really enjoyed the interview clips in the stories – to hear the voices of the people in each neighbourhood.

Could you easily find the Living on the Edge blog posts and other articles online?

image5 Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

How did you find these articles/posts?

This was a poorly phrased question that got few responses. Of the people who responded, most said Twitter or the main page. One mentioned the #yegcc hashtag and one mentioned theedmontonian.

Would you be interested in getting a regular emailed newsletter highlighting our urban affairs coverage?

image6 Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

How would you rate our efforts this summer to let the community know what’s happening and give people opportunities to get involved?

image7 Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)

How can we improve in this area? What would you like to see us do differently? (selection of comments)

I’m not sure how to get more people involved. A Facebook presence? Tie it in with other media (tv/radio)?

Like the Journal does with Livechat during elections, a sidebox on the website with a live stream of comments is an interesting way to draw us in.

More info on how to get involved / public involvement with the City

Don’t show users that have been blocked or write inappropriate material in comments.

It would be good to more fully participate in the urban affairs discussion already taking place in Edmonton’s blogosphere. Link to posts on The Charrette, mastermaq, urbane adventurer, post-awesome, kevin kossowan, the Unknown Studio, etc., and comment on their posts. If you go to them, they are likely to go to you.

Advertise the series more on the website.

By digging even deeper into these issues.

What are the real and direct effects that suburbs place on the city as a whole? ie, straining and stretching out our infrastructure and city resources. Who is ultimately paying for this?

More advance notice on info of upcoming events – especially kid oriented ones. I found often I would hear of a great event in an article that was covering it rather than well beforehand.

It’s great that at the end of every article (online AND in print) there’s the note saying what’s next and invitation to contact livingedge@edmontonjournal.com about ideas. Not sure what more can be done, maybe ask Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues for ideas of community involvement?

If we continue with this effort with a citywide urban affairs webspot and blog, what would you like to see more of?

image7a Insightful comments on Living on the Edge (survey results)Any other thoughts / suggestions for us as we plan our next projects?

Remember not to just rely on social media if you want to attract all kinds of audience.

Balance is key.

I think that it would be interesting to do a series on Gen Y and why they are so focused on urban areas.

Look at what will be done with the empty schools abandoned by the school boards in favour of building new schools for yuppies.

Follow a plastic jar, a milk jug, a tin can and a tire on their journey from curb to recycled consumer product. Weave in the fact the city employs special needs adults to work the sorting centre (I think they do…). Audit Edmonton’s recycling lifecyle relative to other large metros.

Tell us about it

Please continue to take an independent point of view, go to primary sources of information or observe oneself, don’t just accept the status quo.

Look into the City of Edmonton Industrial Land strategy.

Would it be possible to run a piece on the affect of LRT expansion TOD’s along the Millwoods line? I would be truly interested in the development around the Bonnie Doon neighbourhood after rail is introduced.

A look at revitalizing downtown with more attractions, retail, residential. and the continuing hope of things such as the Alberta Art Gallery, new Arena, and a new Royal Alberta Museum to put or downtown on a par with Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

I really enjoyed a lot of the elements from this series and I’d love to see some of the elements extend into the daily coverage of the paper and not just special series (like the interview segments and mapping).

Next projects:

Rossdale Plant consultations & redevelopment

A project about all the languages that Edmontonians speak at home

Thanks for all the great work!

*****

Thanks again to everyone who participated. If anyone missed all the articles in the series, they are archived at www.edmontonjournal.com/livingedge  I’m developing ideas for how to make this an ongoing project – using the blog and the same interactive tools to write a broader range of articles on urban affairs. More details on that as it develops. I can be reached at estolte@edmontonjournal.com or on Twitter @estolte.



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