Measure
The degree to which elements of social capital — trust, civic participation, and social connection — are present in the community.
Trend
Too Early to Know
Why is This Indicator Important?
"Social capital" is often described as the glue that holds us all together or the web of relationships within a community that is essential for society to function. Similar to the concepts of human and financial capital, social capital refers to features of social organization, such as trust and relationships, which increase a societyÕs productive potential.
Social capital includes the neighbor who knows all the kids on the block and can be depended on to be there for them in an emergency or during a conflict. The neighbor who volunteers to coordinate the neighborhood watch program and organizes block parties is also creating social capital. So are the service clubs and organizations that sponsor community activities or agencies and the companies that work cooperatively to strengthen our social connections. The web of relationships that generate social capital is essential not only to the effective functioning of individuals, groups, and communities, but also has a powerful impact on our personal and communal health as well.
How Well is the Capital Area Community Doing?
A social capital survey was conducted in the Capital Area in 2006 using questions from the Social Capital Benchmark Survey created by Robert Putnam at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Analysis of the 2006 survey data shows levels of trust, social connection, and civic participation.
Trust can be described as the belief that an individual, group, or organization can be relied upon to act in a consistent, fair, rational, and expected manner. People in the Capital Area were asked how much they trust people in their neighborhood, the police, the people who work in stores, people of their own racial/ethnic group, and people of other racial/ethnic groups. The responses were averaged to get an overall trust score. A very high percentage of people responding to the social capital surveyÑalmost 86 percentÑsaid they trust other people in the community ÒsomeÓ or Òa lot.Ó About 14 percent said they trust people Òa littleÓ or "not at all."
Social connection is interaction among community members for pleasure and entertainment. In the social capital survey, people were asked how many times they visited with friends in their home or someone elseÕs home in the past year. The frequency of visiting by community members covers quite a range: about 28 percent of people surveyed said they visited more than once a week, while 3 percent said they never visited.
Civic participation is involvement in activities that directly or indirectly contribute to an overall sense of community well-being. People in the Capital Area were asked how many times in the past year they had worked on a community project, attended a public meeting or rally, attended any club or organizational meeting, and volunteered. About 11 percent participated once a week and about 7 percent said they participated more than once a week. About 23 percent never participated in a community activity.
For more information
Urban and Regional Planning Program
201 UPLA Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1221
(517) 353-9144
The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 495-1148
www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro
Sources
Capital Area Behavioral Risk Factor and Social Capital Survey 2006, Ingham County Health Department; and Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, 2000.