We in Würzburg 2024 – Survey on Cohesion in the Town and District

The study on cohesion in the city and district of Würzburg was conducted by the University of Würzburg in cooperation with the Smarte Region Team of the city and district of Würzburg. During the survey period from 04.03.2024 to 02.05.2024, a total of 2,396 people with their main or secondary residence in the city and district of Würzburg aged 15 and over were asked by post and in online interviews (CAWI) how they assess their individual threat situation due to challenges and crises, public offers and services, community solidarity, participation and communication as well as their personal context. The respondents were selected via disproportionate random samples between the city (n = 3,500) and the district (n = 4,500), drawn from the population registers of the city and 50 of the 52 district municipalities.<br>1. Social challenges
Current and future challenges: the three biggest problems or challenges in the city and district of Würzburg (anonymized); strength of the individual threat posed by current challenges (e.g. economic crises, security concerns and crime, climate change and environmental crises, etc.).

Competencies and preparations: self-assessment of digital competence as well as the digital competence of own family, friends and acquaintances as well as the city administration/municipal administration; assessment of the community´s preparation for various challenges (e.g. natural disasters, water shortages, traffic transition, energy transition, digitalization and AI, climate change, etc.); assessment of the community´s preparation for future challenges with regard to the following: Goals, new ideas, learning from successes and failures, actively preparing for future crises and challenges, informing residents about potential crises and how to deal with them, providing services and programs to help people after a crisis.

2. Public services
Public services: satisfaction with various aspects in Würzburg (environmental situation, public safety, protection against crime, cleanliness, cityscape, coexistence of people from different countries, accessibility of job opportunities, public transportation, integration of citizens´ interests and the city´s handling of its finances); awareness of the Smarte Region Würzburg project; Importance of the following digital offers in the city and district of Würzburg (digital administration, online presence, open data, digital lending and exchange market, digital support for volunteers, digital maps of public offers and local warning apps, digital libraries, digital apps for the region, digital participation formats, digital offers for coping with loneliness and social isolation); awareness and use of offers from the city and district in the following areas: Offers for mental and social health, support for volunteers and honorary staff, public participation, offers from the Smart Region of Würzburg; awareness and use of the following offers from the city and district: Heimatforum, Wue App, Smart City Hub, Gesund Studieren in Würzburg and / or Wie geht´s?, Würzburg Mitmachen and /or Mach mit, Heldenhelfer, offer of open data and / or Open Data Portal, Hubbel (online portal for exchange at Hubland).

3. Community ties
Sense of belonging: strength of sense of belonging to different communities (Europe, Germany, city, neighborhood, religious community, political parties, clubs/volunteering, colleagues, family, friends); trust in the neighborhood, personally known people, people of other religions, people after the first meeting, members of the family, people of other nationalities).

Assessment of the living environment: frequency of experience in the living environment (people know each other, sense of belonging, people help each other, conflicts with solutions, conflicts without solutions, people look down on, appreciation, feeling welcome).

4. Participation and communication
Participation: use of various participation opportunities (formal procedures such as federal/state elections and informal procedures such as citizens´ councils, citizens´ assemblies). citizens´ council, citizens´ assemblies); agreement with statements on citizen participation (most citizens are interested in local politics, most citizens are informed enough to participate and have a say, citizen participation costs too much time for the administration and local politics, I am satisfied with the opportunities for participation, more digital participation formats such as online assemblies/online workshops are needed, more analog participation formats such as face-to-face events and workshops are needed); Preferred design of the participation formats (analog, digital or both).

Voluntary work: voluntary work in the last 12 months; (further) voluntary work conceivable; areas of voluntary work (e.g. sport and exercise, leisure time, etc.); personal role in voluntary work (passive member, functionary, active member, initiator). ); personal role in voluntary work (passive member, functionary, active member, initiator); agreement with statements on voluntary work (stressed by voluntary work, get a lot of understanding for voluntary work, part of a community, I learn a lot in voluntary work, concerns about talking to politicians, bureaucratic hurdles make voluntary work more difficult, sufficient support from the administration, sufficient support from local and national politicians.

Information and communication: use of various media in hours per week; trust in various sources of information (e.g. national and local daily and weekly newspapers (incl. online editions), public TV channels, exchanges with family and friends, municipal sources, scientific studies and expert statements); source of information used regarding services provided by the city and district of Würzburg.

Democracy and institutions: trust in institutions (European Parliament, Bundestag, political parties, politicians, local politics, local administration, judiciary, police, science, trade unions and associations); agreement with the idea of democracy; satisfaction with democracy according to the Basic Law and with actual democracy in Germany; agreement with various statements about politics (complexity, taking an active role, understanding and assessing important political issues, parties only want votes, politicians strive for close contact with the population, politicians look after ordinary people).

Household: household size; number of people in the household under 18 and over 65; type of residence (primary or secondary residence); self-assessment of the household´s economic situation.

Demography: age (categorized); gender; marital status; relationship status: stable relationship; length of residence in the city or district of Würzburg in years; education: highest school-leaving qualification; highest vocational training qualification; current occupation; occupation in public administration; migration background; restrictions or disabilities; religious affiliation; political self-assessment left-right; personal attitudes: Self-characterization (Big Five); coping with crises and stressful situations; attitude towards climate change, environmental and climate protection; life satisfaction: satisfaction with the following areas of life: general life satisfaction, health, financial situation, social environment, main job, neighbourhood and housing situation.

Additionally coded were: version of the data set; person ID; questionnaire ID; ID assigned online for online participants of the city; ID assigned online for online participants of the municipality; questionnaire code (anonymized); city or district; type of participation; language of the questionnaire; ID of the person who recorded the questionnaire; Date of entry (day, month); dropout; district (anonymized); municipality/city (anonymized); respondent made comments on the questionnaire content or on cohesion in the city and district of Würzburg; comment by the person entering the data; weighting factors.