From MLive.com:

Metro Detroit residents are a little more optimistic about their community this year, but most remain unattached and pessimistic, according to Gallup's annual Soul of the Community study.

Fourteen percent of residents in the Metro Detroit statistical area -- Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Lapeer and St. Clair Counties -- said they were attached to the region for 2009, up from 12 percent last year.

From the South Florida Business Journal:

Despite the economic downturn, Miami saw a significant increase in residents’ passion and loyalty for their community, according to a three-year study conducted by Gallup and funded by the Knight Foundation.

The Soul of the Community project, which looked at 26 communities, found that the worst economic crisis in decades was not a key factor in Miamians’ love of their city.

From the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel:

A Gallup study of the Fort Wayne area - Allen, Wells and Whitley counties - found three main factors that bind area residents to this community. That study, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, says the most important factors are social offerings (fun places to gather), openness (how welcoming a place is) and aesthetics (an area's physical beauty and green spaces).

The study surveyed more than 13,000 people in 26 U.S. communities. In this area, more than 400 people were surveyed in February, March and April. Surveys were conducted by phone, but cell numbers were included in the pool of potential survey subjects, Knight Foundation officials said.

From BIZ941 Daily:

A Gallup and Knight Foundation study of the Bradenton area and 25 other U.S. communities has found that emotional attachment to the Bradenton MSA (which includes Sarasota and Venice) is the highest of all communities surveyed, according to “The Soul of the Community” survey. The study pinpointed the region’s social offerings (fun places to gather), openness (how welcoming a place is) and aesthetics (an area’s physical beauty and green spaces). Researchers are investigating whether emotional connection to place where one lives drives economic growth. Residents and leaders can explore the findings during a town hall meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 8 at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Selby Auditorium. Register at www.sarasota.usf.edu/ippl or call (941) 359-4602. For complete survey findings on Bradenton, visit www.soulofthecommunity.org/bradenton.