Annual London Survey 2011

The London Survey is a major annual opinion survey of Londoners, commissioned by the Mayor and the Greater London Authority. It seeks to capture the thoughts of Londoners on their opinions of key issues including crime, the environment and transport.

The 2011 topline results have just been published.

According to the survey, the top priority for Londoners this year is education and training. Related issues such as job creation and youth opportunities have also become more important to the city’s residents in 2011.

Crime, safety and policing apparently still remain high in terms of public priority but Londoners are less worried about crime in their local areas and feel safer walking alone at night in their neighbourhoods.

Survey summary

The 2011 Annual London Survey showed that...

• Over three-quarters of Londoners (77%) are satisfied with the capital as a place to live.
• Almost 8 out of 10 Londoners (79%) are satisfied with their neighbourhoods as a place to live.
• Almost half of the city’s residents (46%) think that Transport is the best thing about living in London.
• Londoners feel safer in their neighbourhoods and are becoming less worried about crime. 78% feel safe walking alone in the evening (up from 65% in 2010) and 64% say they are not worried about crime in their local area (up from 53% in 2010).
• Burglary remains the main reason for Londoners feeling unsafe. 38% of residents are concerned about this, although this has improved since last year when 42% of residents expressed concern.
• The second main concern in relation to safety is a fear of being mugged or physically attacked, with 18% of Londoners citing this as a reason they feel unsafe. However, there has been a significant positive shift compared with 2010, where 30% of Londoners were fearful of this.
• Dealing with litter is of greater importance to Londoners this year; 24% believe it should be the main priority for improving the quality of the city’s environment.
• Conserving green spaces as a way of improving London’s environment has significantly increased in priority from 8% in 2010 to 23% this year.
• Londoners are beginning to recognise the regenerative benefits of the Olympics. Three out of ten think the regeneration of East London is the most important long-term benefit of hosting the Olympics in 2012.