The 35th Annual Houston Survey, released yesterday, shows Houstonians laugh in the face of a depressed market and major job losses. The survey by Rice University's Kinder Institute For Urban Research asked 803 residents of Harris County and 401 residents each of Fort Bend and Montgomery counties about their economic outlook, views on diversity and quality of life.

The results displayed what director Stephen Klineberg called "classic Houston optimism"; 61% of respondents said they'll be better off financially in three to four years compared to just 54% last year. Even with all the energy layoffs, residents who rated job opportunities as excellent or good only dropped 7%, to 62%.

The city's effort to improve parks and trails is starting to show in the stats. The number of Harris County residents with access to a park within a mile is now 88%, and Fort Bend is at 92%. Houstonians are using the space, too: 57% of Harris County residents visit a park at least once a month.

29% of those surveyed said, unprompted, that traffic is the biggest problem facing Houston, compared to 21% each who said it was our economy or crime. 62% of Harris County respondents think improving mass transit citywide is "very important."