Porirua City a Happy Place to Live, Say Residents

Porirua residents continue to be happy and enjoy a great quality of life, according to the latest bi-annual Quality of Life survey.

The results reveal one in eight Porirua residents (84%) felt they had a good or extremely good quality of life over the past year.

As well, 77% of Porirua residents were happy or very happy; up from 74% in the 2012 survey. And 76% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with life; up from 71% in 2012.

“These results are really pleasing,” says Deputy Mayor ‘Ana Coffey. “Compared to the other combined Council’s average results, Porirua residents were happier, more satisfied and rated their quality of life higher. That says a lot about our city; its great environment and lifestyle.”

In other positive results, 53% agreed they had confidence in Council decision making; compared to the participating Councils’ average of 40%. An increasing number of Porirua residents (38%) also felt they had a good understanding of Council decision making processes; compared to the participating Councils’ average of 30%.

“As a Council, we are strongly focused on engaging and consulting with residents at all levels of Council operations, from village planning and playground renewals, to developing and agreeing the Long Term Plan for our city. This result is clearly giving residents’ confidence that our processes are open and robust.”

While, 87% felt safe in the city centre during the day, fewer residents reported feeling safe in the city centre after dark; 31% down from 42% in 2012 and below the participating Councils’ average of 43%.

“This is something we clearly have to address, and I am confident the City Centre Revitalisation process underway will make a big difference. The work done during the October placemaking workshop is already adding to the sense of vibrancy in the city centre and we will continue to build on that.”

The good news is that the majority of residents (95%) felt safe in their home during the day and 89% felt safe at home after dark.

In other results, 82% of residents felt their overall health in the year had been good and 93% felt they had someone to turn to for support in their time of need.

Locals also felt a sense of community, with 94% reporting positive contact with people in their neighbourhood and 58% believing the city’s cultural diversity made it a much better place, saying “People from other cultures make the city more vibrant and interesting”.

The Quality of Life survey measures the perceptions on a wide range of topics of more than 5000 residents living in six New Zealand cities; Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Porirua and Hutt. You can view summary of the results on the Council’s website www.pcc.govt.nz; search “Quality of Life Survey”. The full report is available on the Quality of Life website www.qualityoflifeproject.govt.nz

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