The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has just released its third survey of “Political Polarization in the American Public.” It is a massive 10,000-respondent survey that drills deep on five subjects: (1) ideological consistency; (2) partisan antipathy; (3) political polarization and personal life; (4) political compromise and divisive policy debates; and (5) political activism and engagement. in a nutshell the survey shows (not surprisingly) that Republicans and Democrats are more divided along ideological lines – and “partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive than at any point in the last two decades.”
Of interest to readers of the BLUZ is the section on community living preferences. According to the survey, if they could choose anywhere to live, three-quarters of consistent conservatives prefer a community where “the houses are larger and farther apart, but schools, stores, and restaurants are several miles away.” The preferences of consistent liberals are almost the exact inverse, with 77% saying they’d chose to live where “the houses are smaller and closer to each other, but schools, stores, and restaurants are within walking distance.” The survey has a number of other interesting findings related to community living choices, reflected particularly in this section, and tables 3.1 to 3.4 (use the links down the right side).
