School, environment, health: the keys to a family-friendly city
The results show that urban attractiveness for families rests first and foremost on the quality of the school environment (45%), a healthy and ecological living environment (44%), access to health care (38%) and cultural, sporting and leisure activities (38%). Socio-demographic differences are small, with one exception: “healthy” living conditions are more important for the upper classes (52% vs. 38% for the working classes).
We note that parents in the Paris conurbation are less concerned about access problems (to health as much as to activities) than those in rural communities, but more about safety, access to housing and family-friendly transport. These preferences reflect differential “capitals”: where supply is scarce, the primary issue is accessibility. In cities, where supply is dense, economic concerns, particularly for housing, and safety are paramount.
A generally favorable environment, but less so in rural areas
Nearly eight out of ten parents (78%) feel that their commune offers a favorable living environment. This opinion is slightly more common in urban areas (over 80%) than in rural areas (73%).
When it comes to recent developments in family services, the diagnosis is divided: 43% say they are stable, 37% are improving, 12% are deteriorating. In detail, we note that recreational functions seem to be improving more rapidly than essential functions (health, housing, safety): around a third (31%) feel that access to cultural, sporting and leisure activities, as well as a healthy and ecological living environment, have improved. Conversely, 22% see a deterioration in access to health care, 21% in access to housing and appropriate rates, and 19% in safety in public spaces.
Reconciling work and family life at the heart of concerns
Nearly a third (32%) of parents have already given up a professional opportunity, reduced their working hours or stopped working due to a lack of suitable childcare solutions. While this phenomenon continues to affect more women (36%), it also concerns a quarter of men (25%).
The priorities put forward to improve work-life balance are: extending the working hours of local public services (31%), enriching the range of extra-curricular activities on offer (29%), encouraging flexible working hours in companies, and strengthening financial aid for access to individual childcare (21%, with strong support in the Paris conurbation: 30%).
Local policies play a decisive role when considering a new child
More than half of all parents believe that municipal action has a real impact on the birth rate, with a stronger effect in towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants (61%) and in the Paris conurbation (60%), where housing costs and economic constraints are particularly significant.
Among the levers most favored by parents wishing to have a new child (who represent 17% of families): easier access to healthcare and more favorable urban planning (84%), followed by improved safety (83%), more advantageous municipal rates (82%) and a guaranteed childcare solution (81%).
Families’ expectations and concerns only partially integrated into municipal programs, but a decisive issue in the vote
Fewer than four out of ten parents with children (39%, versus 43% who take the opposite view) consider that candidates in municipal elections give sufficient importance to the needs and expectations of their families in their proposals and programs. However, more than two-thirds of parents say that these issues will be important in their electoral choice, with a fifth (20%) believing that they will be very important.
