Quality of Life Research

If you ask people in El Paso County whether our quality of life is improving or declining, you will get a variety of answers.  This is a very subjective topic.  Individuals tend to measure it through the lens of their own experience, or the experiences of family and friends.

Quality of life factors are critical to a successful future.  There are hundreds of examples of desirable places to live that have become less desirable because of controllable issues that local leaders did not recognize and address.  By examining what makes El Paso County great, we can bring people together around the issues that count.  It is easier to create broad coalitions around basic community goals when we see and agree on the issues that matter most.

  

View 2009 Quality of Life Indicators Report for the Pikes Peak Region
In 2006, Pikes Peak United Way invited more than 100 interested community leaders to join Vision Councils to address one of nine different areas. These leaders were drawn from the private, public and nonprofit sectors.  While they represent diverse interests, they share a passion for making El Paso County the best it can be.

These councils provided the vision and guidance for the first annual Quality of Life Indicators Report for the Pikes Peak Region, published in 2007.

The data, or indicators, are quantitative measures of the quality of community life. Our hope is that by tracking data over time, the report helps the community understand who we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going.

The report makes a conscious effort to present only facts.  While it shows trends, the report does not attempt to evaluate these trends as positive or negative.  The goal of presenting this data is to help community members prioritize and make educated decisions about which areas deserve  investment of our time, talent and resources. The goal of this entire effort is positive action.

The 2009 Quality of Life Indicators Report was released in September.