Survey: Americans Prefer Mixed-Use Communities

The majority of Americans are willing to sacrifice on living space if it means living closer to their most-visited spots, according to findings released by the ""National Association of Realtors"":http://www.realtor.org/ (NAR).

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NAR put out Thursday the results of its 2013 Community Preference Survey, which measured the living preferences of 1,500 adult Americans.

According to the findings, most Americans--60 percent--prefer to live in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, which include a combination of houses, shops, and local businesses. On the other hand, only 35 percent said their [COLUMN_BREAK]

ideal community would be a neighborhood of houses located farther away from shopping areas and their workplaces.

More notably, NAR found many of those consumers would be willing to compromise on their ideal property to gain those conveniences. For example, while 52 percent of those surveyed said they would prefer to live in a single-family detached home with a large yard, 78 percent said they would give up the larger yard if it meant a shorter commute to work. In addition, 55 percent said they would be willing to forgo having a large yard if the alternative included living within walking distance of schools, stores, and restaurants as opposed to having to drive.

""Realtors build communities and care about improving those communities through smart growth initiatives. Although there is no one-size fits all approach, smart growth is typically characterized by mixed-use development, higher densities, and pedestrian friendly streets that accommodate a wide diversity of transportation modes,"" said Gary Thomas, NAR president and broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, California. ""Growth patterns, economic development and quality-of-life issues are inextricably linked to the success of communities and residents.""