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Infrastructure
"Infrastructure" may be a commonly used term among planners and policymakers, but it is not a household word in Orange County.
While six in 10 residents say they are familiar with the term "infrastructure," only one in four say they know a lot about it.
A knowledge gap is particularly evident across racial/ethnic groups: 30 percent of whites are very familiar with the term,
compared to only 8 percent of Latinos. Knowledge of infrastructure increases with age, income, and education.
After listening to a brief definition of the term, residents highlighted school facilities (45%)
as their top priority for infrastructure spending in the county. Considerably fewer mentioned surface transportation (27%),
water systems (13%), sewer systems (7%), and airports (5%). These responses are similar to those of residents throughout the
state, as reflected in our November 2002 Statewide Survey.
Although Orange County residents cite traffic and growth issues as the county’s most pressing problems, both North (46%) and
South (43%) County residents rank school facilities as the top infrastructure priority. There are no differences of opinion
across political groups, but there is some variation in the strength of this priority among other groups: Women are more
likely than men (51% to 38%), Latinos are more likely than whites (57% to 41%), and those with children at home are more likely than those
without (54% to 38%) to see school facilities as their top infrastructure priority.
"Which infrastructure project do you think should have the top priority for public funds in Orange
County?"
| |
All
Adults |
Region |
Race / Ethnicity |
|
North |
South |
White |
Latino |
|
School facilities |
45% |
46% |
43% |
41% |
57% |
|
Surface transportation |
27 |
26 |
29 |
31 |
15 |
|
Water systems |
13 |
11 |
15 |
13 |
13 |
|
Sewer systems |
7 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
|
Airports |
5 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
|
Other / Don't know |
3 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
Virtually all residents see the condition of roads and other infrastructure as important to the quality of life and economic
vitality in the county – 73 percent say the roads and infrastructure are very important. By comparison, 59 percent of
Californians in the November 2002 Statewide Survey said that the condition of roads and other infrastructure was very
important to the quality of life and economic vitality in their regions.
"How important is the condition of the roads and other infrastructure
to the quality of life and economic vitality in Orange County?"
| |
All
Adults |
Region |
Race / Ethnicity |
|
North |
South |
White |
Latino |
|
Very important |
73% |
74% |
72% |
73% |
77% |
|
Somewhat important |
25 |
24 |
25 |
25 |
21 |
|
Not important |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|