…And the conclusion of the recent, city-commissioned survey on the subject is: … not for everyone – despite the college town’s reputation as a center of free thinking, social engagement and open minds.

Particularly, “… those outside the Boulder majority – that is, affluent, liberal, heterosexual white people – feel less welcome on average in the city,” the Boulder Daily Camera reported last week in summarizing the survey findings. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency, which conducted the survey for the city, found, “… among those who reported feeling unwelcome, there were a few common reasons reported: political views, socioeconomic and housing status, age, race and sex or gender identity.”

Some background, from the Camera’s report:

Boulder budgeted $167,000 for administration of the survey and production of a  subsequent report. The preceding police survey, which was done by a different consultant, cost the city about $94,000.

Explaining the need for this latest, more expensive probe, City Manager Jane Brautigam told the City Council last year, “We wanted to go farther and not just focus on the police department, but on our community as a whole.  Are we truly safe and welcoming?”

About 85 percent of the roughly 1,800 locals who were polled aid they felt somewhat or very welcome. Most said they felt safe, as well. But then there was also this:

Some respondents reported experiencing a very different Boulder, however.

“The invisibility of privilege is really intense – more intense than any place I’ve ever been,” said one person quoted anonymously in the report. “There’s this lie that everyone is included.”

And this:

More than a third of people who felt unwelcome cited their politics as the primary reason. And while the survey doesn’t explicitly spell out that many within that group are conservative, the comments included in the report made that point clear.

Conservative opinions are “looked down upon,” the report said.

OK, but can any city be said to make everyone feel welcome? Denver? Fort Collins? Pueblo? Colorado Springs?

Or, is the city onto something in trying to divine its own true nature as well as the limitations to its appeal?

Meanwhile, is it worth spending $167,000 out of the public till to figure it all out? (And are Boulder’s conservatives too timid to speak up and ask that question?)

Read the full story, and decide for yourself; here’s the link again.