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NURS 4440
Windshield Survey Tool

For Community Health Nurses to be able to knowledgeably plan services for a community, it is
essential to know a specific community, identify health-related resources that may be helpful to
members, and learn about gaps in services. A windshield survey is conducted from a car and
provides a visual overview of a community. Conditions and trends in the community that could
affect the health of the population are noted. This data provides background and context for
working in the community or for conducting a community assessment. The clinical instructor
will make specific assignments for the Survey. Information gathered from this survey is to be
incorporated in the group’s wiki for the Community Assessment Project.

Notes

Boundaries
Are the boundaries geographical, political, or
economic? How is this seen? Do
neighborhoods have names? Are there sub-
communities? How are these identified?
Boundaries
Geographical boundaries include I-77 and
Lake Norman. Economic boundaries include
Downtown Mill Area which appear to be
older homes with a lower-middle class status.
The rural areas of Mooresville contain a wide
variety of homes from old to new and lower
to higher appraised properties. Lake Norman,
the newer part of Mooresville, contains higher
to middle class homes.

Some neighborhoods have names and some

are stand alone. The older homes appear to
be more the stand alone type, where the
newer homes seem to be in developments.

Sub-communities of Mooresville include

Lake Norman. Lake Norman is identified by
billboards and signs when entering the
community.

Housing and Zoning Housing and Zoning

What is the age of the buildings? What are
the construction materials? Are the
residences single family or multifamily
dwellings? What is the size and condition
of the lots (repaired or damaged)?
The ages of the buildings in this region range
from early 1900’s to < 5 years old.
Construction materials include brick, wood,
vinyl siding, and manufactured homes. A
majority of homes in this area are single
family. There were some multifamily
dwellings that are mainly noted in the Lake
Norman area. The lots vary on the location of
the home. Inside city limits are smaller lots

Signs of Decay
Is the area well maintained or in disrepair? Is
there garbage strewn? Are there
trashed/abandoned cars, places for rodents or
other wildlife to hide, vacant lots?
Parks and Recreational Areas
Are there play areas for children and
adults? Are they safe and maintained?
Who uses them?
Common Areas
Where do people collect for social gatherings
of all sorts; where do they “hang out”? Are
they for particular groups or are they open to
all? Are there signs posted?
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(less than one acre). The lots in the historical
area are more developed with lots of
shrubbery that are not very well kept. In the
rural area, homes have more land that varies
between trees and fields. The newer
developed areas and Lake Norman have
smaller lots but the lots are very well kept and
include landscaping.
Signs of Decay
Upper – middle class areas are very well
maintained. In the lower income housing
areas, there are piles of trash on the sides of
the road. We saw several mattresses on the
side of the road as well. A few homes had
land filled with trashed cars. No rodents
notes.
Parks and Recreational Areas
There are 12 parks in this region. Some nicer
than others. All appeared to be kept in a safe,
playable manner. Youth sports team use
these parks, as well as children in play with
their parents.
Lazy 5 Ranch is a popular place for families
to go to see exotic animals. They have
Lamas, horses, giraffes, etc.
Charles Mack Citizen Center is a civic center
for numerous activities to include things such
as self defense courses.
Multiple Golf Courses – all open to public
Common Areas
The Prickly Pear is a mexican cuisine
restaurant that has live music events. This
place is open to the public.
Queens Landing includes boat rides, putt-putt,
piano bar, bumper boats and jet ski rentals.
This place is open to the public.
Other bars and restaurants all appear to be
open to the public.

Stores
What stores (grocery,
retail, drug, dry cleaning, etc.) are in the
area? How do residents travel to them?
Transportation
How do most people get around the area? Is
there public transportation? If so what kind
and does it appear to be used? Who uses it?
What is the condition of the streets, roads,
highways?
Communication
Is there evidence of local and national
newspapers to other media? Are there
informational posters on streets, busses,
billboards, etc.?
Service Centers
Where are the services for the community
located – health care, social services,
schools, employment offices etc.?
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Stores
Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Bottom Groceries,
and Walmart Super Center.
Rite-Aid, CVS, Walgreens, Medi-Cap
Residents travel to these sites via privately
owned vehicles.
There are many small privately owned
businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants
and consignment shops that are found in the
historical downtown district. Other areas
have franchises such as blockbuster,
Applebees, Walmart, etc.
Transportation
People get around by privately owned
vehicles. There is no public transportation at
this time. There are signs posted of upcoming
public transportation labeled ‘Park & Ride
Transit Station’. Newly developed areas and
main highways are well maintained. In the
historic district there are roads that need
improvements. In the rural areas there are
some roads that are not paved.
Communication
The local newspaper is called The Tribune.
There are billboards in the newer developed
areas and there are some posters on the sides
of the streets in the historic area to provide
advertisement.
Service Centers
There is one main hospital in the south-
western region of Mooresville. Lake Norman
Regional Medical Center is surrounded by
several medical buildings. There are a few
family practice offices noted in different areas
of this region. The county social services
office is located in Statesville, NC. The
schools are spread throughout Mooresville.
There are 2 districts; Mooresville Graded
School District and Iredell Statesville School
System. It appears the employment offices

People in the Community
Who is in the area during the day? How are
they dressed? Are there animals (pets) with
them or in the area? What evidence is there
of particular. “classes” of people – upper,
middle, working, lower?
Industries
What are the major industries? What
types of occupations are evident?
Protective Services
Where are fire and police stations located? Is
there evidence of police and fire protection in
the area? Is it more in one region than
another?
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are located with Social Services for Iredell
County.
People in the Community
In the historic area we saw a woman opening
her shop by putting a sign out on the side
walk. We saw to older men sitting on a bench
on Main Street drinking coffee. There
weren’t a lot of people walking down the
streets as the main source of transportation is
by car. The few we did see walking appeared
to be poorly dressed and not very well
groomed. By looking at the people we saw in
the historic area we assume by the way they
were dressed that they were middle-lower
class. Other evidence we noted were the cars.
Different locations had different cars of
values from low to high.
Industries
The historic part of Mooresville is built
around an old shut down mill. There are
other factories and run down mills noted
throughout the area. NASCAR seems to play
a large part in the newer developing
Mooresville. There are many companies
related to race car driving found in the city.
The top three companies with the highest
amount of employees are Lowes
Headquarters, Lake Norman Regional
Medical Center, and Walmart Super Center.
We did note there are quite a bit of auto
dealership and auto body shops. Also noted
there are numerous banks, gas stations and
shops.
Protective Services
There are 4 fire stations equally distributed
through the city. We saw one fire station, one
police station and did note police patrolling
throughout the city.
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Ethnicity
What is the predominant ethnic group? Are
there residents from a variety of ethnic Ethnicity
backgrounds or is the community mostly one On observation, we mainly noted Caucasian
group? Which one? Are there stores, ethnicity. Census reports:
restaurants, churches, schools, or languages
that indicate a particular ethnic group(s)? Population 18,823
White – 15, 129
Black – 2,653
Hispanic – 480
Asian 312
Other 249

There are no observed stores, restaurants or

Religion
What churches and church-run schools are
in the area? Who apparently uses them and
when? How many are there?
Health and Morbidity
Is there evidence of any health problems
such as drug abuse, communicable
diseases, chronic diseases, mental
illnesses etc.?
Politics
Is there evidence of any political activity? Are
there any signs that indicate predominant
political parties and political concerns?
languages that indicate a particular ethnic
group.
Religion
Observed a lot of churches throughout this
region. Over 50 Christian churches varying
of different protestants. According to
research approximately 50% of Mooresville’s
population are a member of a religious sector.
Health and Morbidity
Per county report, the top 3 health related
issues in Iredell County are obesity, heart
disease and lung cancer.
Politics
No evidence noted of current political
activities. This region is predominately
republican.
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(Modified from Stanhope M., & Knollmueller, R. N. (1997). Public and community health
nurse’s consultant: A health promotion guide. St. Louis: Mosby.)