The best districts of Katowice – residents' ranking, part 1

We love making rankings – in every field! Lists of the best city districts in terms of quality of life are among the most popular and most frequently updated. They attract particular attention from people planning a move. One of the more interesting lists saw the light of day exactly a year ago. At the turn of September and October 2016, the Otodom and OLX portals, together with the research agency PBS, conducted surveys among almost 1.5 thousand residents of individual districts of the city and asked them about their quality of life, taking various aspects into account. What were the results of this survey?

Respondents had to answer several questions. For each one they simply gave a single number from 1 to 7, where 1 meant "I strongly disagree" and 7 "I fully agree".

Safety

There is no hiding the fact that when choosing a new flat for our family we pay particular attention to the safety of the district. Hardly anyone will be tempted even by the most beautiful flat if assaults or thefts often happen in the area. Residents of Katowice named Kostuchna the safest district (5.87 pts), with Murcki second (5.67) and Osiedle Witosa third (5.66). Szopienice-Burowiec came out weakest – 4.00 pts.

Why is Kostuchna the safest? This is down to its good urban layout and the material and social status of the district's residents. As for Szopienice-Burowiec, the situation in that district is in any case better today than in previous years. Katowice police officers confirm this.

Neighbours

This time it is about how friendly the other residents of the district are. In which district do neighbours get on best with each other? In this category Kostuchna and Osiedle Witosa simply swapped places. The difference is not large – Osiedle Witosa scored 5.53 pts, Kostuchna 5.33 pts. These results are closely tied to the "Safety" category. After all, friendly neighbours can hardly be rated as dangerous at the same time 😊 Overall, neighbours across the city are rated well. The average rating for the courtesy of the city's residents is 4.76, while the national average is 4.76.

Greenery

Although proximity to work or school and good connections to various parts of the city seem more important factors when choosing a new home, greenery in its surroundings cannot be pushed into the background. Proximity to parks and squares matters enormously, especially in cities where the level of pollution and noise is high. The clear winner of this category is the Murcki district, which scored 6.74. This is thanks to the Murckowski Forest Nature Reserve and Murcki Park.

The Brynów district (the eastern part, that is Osiedle Zgrzebioka – 6.51 pts) and Ligota-Panewniki (6.45 pts) received only slightly lower marks. Almost all districts scored above 5 points. Only in Śródmieście was greenery rated at 4.36.

Cleanliness

If a place to live should be green, then surely it should also be clean. The highest mark in this category went to Zarzecze – 6.09. In second place came Osiedle Witosa (6.02), and in third – Brynów, eastern part (5.93). The cleanest districts were thus considered to be those without industry, where the buildings are mainly single-family houses, whose residents take more care of the cleanliness of their surroundings than residents of blocks of flats do (individual responsibility vs. collective responsibility). The weakest in terms of cleanliness are Janów-Nikiszowiec (4.23 pts) and Szopienice-Burowiec (4.38).

A well-kept neighbourhood

This category is quite closely connected with cleanliness, but here it is more about satisfaction with the work of the municipal services than with the actions of the residents themselves. The highest rating went to Osiedle Witosa – 5.81 pts. This is praise for the absence of litter and chaos in public space, the tidy lawns and the general appearance of the district. Osiedle Tysiąclecia (5.71) and Zarzecze (5.63) also earned top marks. These districts won because a lot of renovation and modernisation is carried out there, for example of roads, street lighting and buildings. The 4.19 pts scored by Janów-Nikiszowiec and the 4.47 pts of Dąbrówka Mała must be considered rather weak results.