Prince George’s Quality of Life Index

In an article we highlighted yesterday on travel-focused development, there were a few paragraphs on a unique creation called the Prince George’s Quality of  Life Index:

Cardin praised the county, saying Prince George’s has seen marked improvements in safety, education and economic ventures, while the majority of the country has suffered.

He referred to the progress referenced in the roundtable’s newly released Prince George’s County Quality of Life Index, which included sales tax collections growing to $475 million in 2009 from $354 million in 2004; the county’s drop in vehicle thefts to 3,495 in 2009 from 15,388 in 2003; and the growth in the county’s qualified teachers to 82 percent in 2009 from 48.6 percent in 2004.

The index, which was two years in the making, gathers data regarding the county’s progress in the economy, education, safety, transportation, health, and parks and recreation sectors.

We all intuitively know that the quality of life in our communities should be measured by something more than localized GDP.  It’s good to know that there might be ways to better measure it, and that that index might be on the rise is especially gratifying.

2 Comments

1. Prince George’s County has begun a discussion of how it intends to grow and sustain its people. There is an open dialogue that allows residents to share their values and desires with government, business and community leaders so as to have a voice in the direction that growth takes in the county.

   Comment by tcannady - January 19, 2010 @ 4:26 am

2. I believe the growth should be controlled to properly pace population with the sprawl with the increase of traffic that would be attracted from new businesses and their jobs and customers with the anticipated schools and crime. Local government revenue should be a balancing act with the needs of the community, not a goal that can entice corruption and excesses. My concern is that there should be good-paying jobs for PG residents. I love the county’s greenery and flowering trees in our neighborhoods during the spring. Let’s not lose it to “development” with some urban mind-set that trees and nature are for the parks only.

   Comment by BabaSai - January 27, 2010 @ 11:56 pm