Survey Research for the Town of Blacksburg

Study technology tools for planning from a citizen use
perspective

Gauge citizen interest in technology venues for volunteer
based input & participation

Develop an understanding of technology tools currently
used by citizens

“While the potential to
increase citizen
participation is one of the
main arguments for
creating Web-enabled
activity, most planning
agencies are not using it to
engage the public in
discourse (such as
discussion forums) but
rather to provide a one-way
communication channel
(such as static maps or
agendas and minutes).
(Simpson, 2005)
Reported Use of Technology Tools by Planning
Agencies, by number of agency staff

33 Questions: 29 Multiple Choice, 4 Write-in

90 Surveys mailed to randomly selected addresses
within the Town of Blacksburg (32 Reponses, 35.6%
Response Rate)

Survey.vt online survey site emailed to UAP Master’s
Listserve and Graduate Program Listserve (47
Responses)

From the received surveys, 55 complete responses were
used to generate the following data

Survey sections:
• Demographics
• Civic Participation
• Local Government Website
•
•
•
•
Use
Social Media Use
Applications Use
GIS Use
Other Technology Use
Age
Income Level
Affiliated with VT (Y/N)
Affiliation with VT
Educational Attainment
Public Meeting Attendance
Web video Pub Mtg
Web video w/Forum
Project/Issue Forum Access
Forum Participation
Tracked User Feedback
Blacksburg Website Access
Category of Access
Website Completeness of Info
Website Ease of Use
Facebook Access
Twitter Access
Blog Access
Town Facebook Access
Town Twitter Access
Local Blog Access
No. of App Devices
Town of Blacksburg App
Transportation App
Civic App
GIS Access
GIS Ease of Use
Google Earth Access
Google Earth Town Gen Info
3D Town of Blacksburg
Google Earth Town Info

Age Significant Correlation Values:
• Income: Moderate (.658**)
• Affiliated with VT: Moderate (-.548**)
• Live-streamed Video Mtgs: Moderate (.312*)
• Facebook Access: Moderate (-.394**)

Income Level Significant Correlation Values:
• Income: Moderate (.658**)
• Educational Attainment: Moderate (.319**)
• Affiliated with VT: Moderate (-.406**)
• Category of Access: Moderate (.337*)
• Application Devices: Weak (.279*)
• GIS Ease of Use: Weak (.293*)
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed), ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

Educational Attainment Significant Correlation Values:
• Affiliated with VT: Moderate (.339*)
• Affiliation with VT: Moderate (.387**)
• Live-streamed Video Mtgs: Moderate (-.305*)
• Google Earth Use for Town of Blacksburg Info: Weak (.283*)
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed), ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Image References:
Image 1: http://www.blacksburg.va.us/
Image 2: http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/2007/06/
Image 3: http://www.bloggingpro.com/archives/2011/04/15/blogger-comembrace-google-accounts-or-perish/
Image 4: www.cegsa.editme.com
Image 5: http://technorati.com/blogging/article/facebook-defends-againstallegations-of-facebook/
Research Reference:
Simpson, D. M. (2005). “Use of Web Technology by U.S. Planning
Agencies: Results from a National Benchmarking Survey.” The Municipal
Yearbook 2005 , 22-26. Available at www.urbaninsight.com