A new study shows more people living in Grand Rapids don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods.
The Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University found 15 percent of residents feel “somewhat unsafe” or “very unsafe,” compared to 7 percent in 2013.
More than 80 percent of Grand Rapids area residents would give the city an overall grade of “A” or “B” as a place to live which remains unchanged from the VoiceGR studies conducted in 2014 and 2015.
The rating continues to vary based on the person’s race, education, poverty level and where they live. White residents responded the most positively, followed by Asian, multiracial, American Indian, Hispanic/Latino and black/African American residents.
Once again, racism was seen as a bigger problem in the U.S. than in the Grand Rapids area.
Residents who took the VoiceGR survey said crime, infrastructure, and lack of cohesion were the top problems facing the community.