BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roads, bridges and energy are the most cited by U.S. residents as concerns, according to a “human data” analysis of public sentiment toward aging infrastructure.
The analysis, “U.S. Infrastructure Sentiment & Concerns,” was conducted to determine which cities and major-metropolitan areas are most concerned about infrastructure, and which specific issues are causing the most concern. The findings are the result of a two-month examination of nearly 10,500 tweets discussing the topic from more than 4,000 Twitter users. Research software developer QSR International conducted the analysis.
According to the findings, the following are the top 10 cities expressing concern over infrastructure needs, as well as the specific issues most cited from those cities:
| 1. | Atlanta | Roads and Bridges | |||||||||||||||
| 2. | Washington, DC | Roads and Bridges / Infrastructure Plan | |||||||||||||||
| 3. | New York City/ Tri-State Area | Infrastructure Plan | |||||||||||||||
| 4. | San Francisco Bay Area | Infrastructure Plan / Energy and the Power Grid | |||||||||||||||
| 5. | Boston | Energy and the Power Grid | |||||||||||||||
| 6. | Denver | Energy and the Power Grid | |||||||||||||||
| 7. | San Diego Area | Infrastructure Plan / Dams | |||||||||||||||
| 8. | Los Angeles | Infrastructure Plan | |||||||||||||||
| 9. | Indianapolis |
Roads and Bridges / Transportation |
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10. |
Philadelphia | Roads and Bridges / Energy and The Power Grid | |||||||||||||||
“Residents across the nation are coming face to face with the real problems created by aging highways, roads, bridges and other infrastructure,” said Chris Astle, CEO of QSR International. “As these issues come to light, citizens are taking to social media and other outlets to express their concerns and call for action. It’s important that community leaders listen.”
Infrastructure in the United States has been in decline for decades, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) annual Infrastructure Report Card. In the group’s most recent report card, nearly all categories examined earned a C grade or lower.
The QSR human data analysis amplifies the findings of the ASCE Report Card. According to the QSR analysis, concerns across the nation ranged from calls for stronger leadership on the issue to worries about infrastructure planning and costs. Some key findings of the analysis include:
• California saw the strongest calls for leadership on the issue (70 percent expressed concerns over the state government’s efforts on the issue)
• California was also loudest on the topic of infrastructure investment (36 percent of tweets focused on funding)
• Georgia residents generated the most noise overall on the topic (nearly 20 percent of all Twitter activity on the issue originated in Georgia), spurred by news of the Interstate 85 bridge collapse
• Washington, D.C. tweets focused on infrastructure planning and taxes, as well as a concern for wider U.S. decline
• New Yorkers were most concerned about power outages and the decline of bridges
• California residents focused on dams and flooding issues
“The human data analysis made possible by new technology clearly demonstrates how strongly citizens across the country feel about the nation’s infrastructure problems, going way beyond what a simple analysis of regional statistics might provide,” Astle said. “For policymakers, understanding how constituents are feeling and combining that information with numerical data on any given issue provides a clearer glimpse into a community’s needs and desires. These new insights can make the difference between satisfying community needs and appearing to be out of touch.”
About QSR International
Every day, QSR International helps 1.5 million researchers, marketers and others to utilize Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) to uncover deeper insights contained within the “human data” collected via social media, consumer feedback and other means. The company’s innovative suite of NVivo software products allows both structured numerical data and unstructured “human” data to be analyzed together, uncovering powerful insights unattainable through quantitative data analysis alone. This capability helps to forge more informed decisions that create growth, solve problems and improve lives. With benefits for individuals, teams and organizations, NVivo lets you work with your information in ways that just aren’t possible manually.
Headquartered in Australia, QSR International maintains offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. Learn more at www.qsrinternational.com.
