Housing is the single greatest long-term challenge facing Bermuda.

That?s according to a 2005 Public Perception Study on Sustainable Development made public on Friday.

Blacks, women and younger Bermudians were more likely to identify housing as the greatest challenge, the survey said.

Seventeen percent of those polled thought crime and drugs was a more pressing issue, with more elderly respondents giving this as their answer.

Those surveyed were also asked to rate the importance of 12 issues with regard to Bermuda?s long term success.

When those statistics were compiled, education and training emerhed as the most important issue with 83 percent of those responding calling it ?critically important?.

Those whose household income was greater than $50,000 were more likely to see this as a critical issue than those earning less than that amount.

Affordable housing was seen as the second most critically important issue at 80 percent.

Other critically important issues included anti-social behaviour (75 percent), the cost of living (69 percent) and protecting the marine environment (66percent).

People were also asked what actions would make Bermuda a better place.

Fifteen percent opted for more equality and less racism, with a large proportion of those over the age of 55 backing that idea, while 12 percent said a change in Government or more accountability would improve matters. Many of the people supporting this idea were white.

Improving the housing siutation was supported by 11 oercent og those polled, with most backing coming from lowr income households, women and black residents.

Reducng crime was identified by nine percent of respondents and reducing the cost of living was supported by six percent.

Concerning equality in the workplace, whites and older residents were more likely to believe employment opportunities were equally open to all.

Women, black residents and young people said it was not a level playing field and suggested improved education (13 percent), tighter immigration laws (12 percent) and more open discussions (11 percent) to level it out.

However, 17 percent of those surveyed were unable to provide an answer, the survey said.

Ninety percent said better training efforts for Bermudians were needed and 91 percent said a programme to track what subjects students study to inform them of upcoming job vacancies was needed.

Brain drain could be a problem in Bermuda, it said, as 25 percent of all residents had at least one family member working overseas who was not likely to return in the next five years.

The environment stirred different emotions for different people however, the vast majority (85 percent) residents were concerned about the overdevelopment of Bermuda.

Whites were more likely to agree that incentives to maintain open space should include tax-breaks for private landowners while women, black residents and those with household incomes of less than $100,000 were more likely not to answer the question, it said.

More people (25 percent) thought beaches, the shoreline and coastal areas should be preserved than open space and green areas (19 percent).

Older residents found it critically important to preserve traditional Bermuda architecture while younger residents felt it was important but not critical.

Non-Bermudians and whites were more likely to suggest better recycling to reduce waste but Bermudians, black residents and homes with incomes of less than $50,000 were less likely to answer the question.

The area with the least amount of importance in terms of construction was Morgan?s Point, with only two in ten people perceiving it to be critically important.

In contrast eight in ten ? mostly black residents or those with household income of less than $100,000 ? thought constructing affordable housing was critically important, while women, those with lower household incomes, Bermudians and black residents were more likely to favour a new Causeway being built.

The majority of people (72 percent) said more after-school programmes were needed for teens.

And addressing the issue of reoffending and drug abuse in Bermuda, those under the age of 35 suggested stiffer sentences or having prisoners serve their full sentence, whereas those 35 and older suggested more education and employment opportunities.

Only 43 percent of those surveyed knew the Sustainable Development Project existed.