Alabama's Fragile Communities

    Gallup is out with a comprehensive study* of "fragile communities" in the U.S., including Birmingham, Alabama.

      Poverty is a factor in all of the "fragile communities" used in the study. Noteworthy in Birmingham: a much larger percentage of African Americans...89%...than in the other locations. 
     

"Job shortages, inadequate access to higher education, health problems and high crime rates are the most common obstacles that fragile-community residents in the U.S. face in achieving the American dream. This confluence of challenges represents a powerful barrier to opportunity for many of those living in the nation's disadvantaged communities."

*Gallup launched one of the most comprehensive efforts of its kind – a six-month qualitative and quantitative survey of residents in fragile communities in four metropolitan areas: Birmingham, AL; Cleveland, OH; Fresno, CA and Chicago, IL. Using these insights, Gallup mailed a questionnaire to 28,000 people in urban and rural fragile communities nationwide, with more than 6,230 responding to produce a rich collection of insights on their lives and experiences. This survey is unprecedented in its field, with an exceptionally large and diverse sample size yielding actionable and sometimes counter-intuitive insights.