The National Living Environment Observatory unveils the results of its very first annual Barometer

The Order of Expert Surveyors, the National Council of Architects, OPQU, UNAM, the Association of Interprofessional Ecologists, and the Federation of SCOT welcome community stakeholders on November 17 to present the results of this vast survey carried out by the OpinionWay institute.

In 2019, the ONCV had already carried out a first survey to understand how the French perceived their living environment and what were their main factors of satisfaction at home or at work. Two years later, and in the light of the pandemic, the first edition of the “Annual Barometer of the Living Environment” * provides new indicators on the expectations and wishes of the French in this area.

Carried out with a sample of more than 1.000 people, representative of the population, this survey makes it possible to follow the relationship of the French to their living environment according to their region, their place of residence (agglomerations, medium-sized towns and rural municipalities ), their age and socio-professional category. The Barometer is segmented into 3 parts: “the current living environment”, “the wish to change the living environment” and “the perceived advantages and disadvantages of living in the city center or on the outskirts”.

Thus, the Barometer reveals that one in four French people plans to move within five years. An impressive result which mainly concerns the working population (40%) and the inhabitants of Ile-de-France (45%). The timeline is also very short, while two thirds of these people ready to take action believe that access to teleworking could even accelerate their relocation plan.

In total, 41% of those questioned indicated that they wanted to settle in the countryside, 41% on the outskirts of towns and 27% towards the town center; the most active people want to go to rural areas, especially among young adults (47% among 25-34 year olds). The results also show a desire to move directly from the city center to rurality, without going as before through the crown of a large city.

In terms of elements that make up the quality of the living environment, the issues of living space are surprisingly largely exceeded by noise, pollution and access to nature. Proximity to services and shops and the desire to reduce travel times are also factors put forward by the people questioned. Finally, 85% of people who wish to move indicate that they do not make their workplace a determining criterion and 92% of French people planning to become neo-rural say that they are not afraid to integrate.

Bruno Jeanbart, Vice-President of OpinionWay, presented these results on the stand of the Order of Expert Surveyors: "We must undoubtedly wait to see if these relocation projects will be carried out, but the appetite for better access to natural spaces is undeniable".