Scottish Household Survey 2021 - telephone survey: key findings

2. Neighbourhoods and communities

Neighbourhood

The majority (96%) of adults rated their neighbourhood as either a very good or fairly good place to live (Table 2.1). 58% of adults rated their neighbourhood very good to live, and 37% rated it as a fairly good place to live. This is consistent with the results in 2020.

Respondents' view of their neighbourhood varied by level of deprivation as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Adults in the 20% least deprived areas were more likely to rate their neighbourhood as a very good place to live than those in the 20% most deprived areas (80% in the least deprived areas, and 30% in the most deprived areas) (Table 2.4). This gap remains stable compared to 2020. Adults in accessible or remote rural areas were more likely to describe their neighbourhood as a very good place to live (71% and 76%, respectively) than those in large and 'other' urban areas (53% and 55%, respectively) (Table 2.1). This has remained stable compared to 2020.

Community

Adults were positive about the people-based features of their neighbourhood, such as kindness and trust: 50% strongly agreed that people in their neighbourhood are kind to each other, and 46% strongly agreed that people in their neighbourhood can be trusted (Table 2.5). However, physical aspects of the neighbourhood, such as the availability of places to socialise and meet new people, were rated less positively: 28% of adults strongly agreed that there were places to meet and socialise in their neighbourhood, and only 21% strongly agreed that there were welcoming places to meet new people (Table 2.5).

81% of adults felt a very strong or fairly strong sense of belonging to their neighbourhood in 2021 (Table 2.10). This varied with age, ethnic group and deprivation. Sense of belonging was lower for people aged 25-34 (Table 2.11), for 'White: Other' and minority ethnic groups (Table 2.12) and people living in the most deprived areas (Table 2.13). Adults owning their own property were more likely to feel a very or fairly strong sense of belonging to their community (86%), while adults who were privately renting were least likely to (58%) (Table 2.14).

Most adults agreed with statements about their involvement with other people in their neighbourhood: if I was alone and needed help, I could rely on someone to help me (89%); if my home was empty, I could count on someone to keep an eye on it (89%); and I could turn to someone for advice or support (80%) (Table 2.15). This varied by area deprivation, with adults from the 20% least deprived areas more likely to agree than those from the 20% most deprived areas (Table 2.18). The majority of adults in Scotland (95%) agreed that they would assist their neighbours in an emergency.

53% of adults perceived at least one problem to be very or fairly common in their neighbourhoods (Table 2.20). Those living in the 20% most deprived areas were more likely to experience neighbourhood problems. The neighbourhood problems that were perceived as most common were rubbish or littering (34%) and animal nuisance (31%) (Table 2.23). Adults living in large urban areas were most likely to identify rubbish or littering as a very or fairly common problem (44%), compared with other groups (Table 2.23).

Neighbourhood safety

The majority of people (82%) said they felt very or fairly safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark (Table 2.44). Women felt less safe than men, with 73% of women feeling very or fairly safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, compared with 93% of men (Table 2.44). People are also likely to feel less safe if aged 60 or over (Table 2.45), disabled (Table 2.50) or from the most deprived areas (Table 2.46).

There is a clear association between how adults rated their neighbourhood and how safe they felt in their communities. 84% of adults who rated their neighbourhood as very/fairly good said they felt safe walking alone at night, compared with just 34% of adults who rated their neighbourhood as very poor (Table 2.52). The vast majority of adults (98%) felt very or fairly safe when in their home alone at night, although this was lower for people who rated their neighbourhood as very poor (83%) (Table 2.61).

Discrimination and harassment

9% reported that they had experienced discrimination (Table 2.28) and 7% had experienced harassment in the last 12 months (Table 2.36). Some groups were more likely than others to report having experienced discrimination or harassment in Scotland, for instance people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual (Table 2.31) and people from minority ethnic groups (Table 2.32). The perceived reasons for discrimination include sex or gender (19%), age (16%) and nationality (16%) (Table 2.35).