A second year Master of City Planning student is doing research in the Town of Niverville for her thesis.

Ellen Enns is studying at the University of Manitoba. She says her research is looking at the relationship between where people choose to live and how they get to work every day. She says she chose Niverville as her subject because of its growth and it's mix of commuters and people working locally.

Ellen Enns"I chose Niverville first off just in how fast it's growing in population which I find very interesting. There seems to be this push for this lifestyle. I decided to go to Niverville because there's interesting information in the Census data about commuting and it was actually more diverse, people were not always commuting to Winnipeg it was a little bit more balanced than some of the other towns."

Enns says she has conducted and intercept survey with face to face interviews as well as an online survey which has circulated a few town websites and social media. She notes the survey covered a variety of topics.

"It's kind of broken up into two pieces. The first is about the neighbourhood itself and your household, so how many people live in your household, how long have you lived in Niverville. The other section, that's looking more at commuting. Where do you work, general area, how long does it take you to get to work. Would you ever live closer to where you work, so those sort of comparison questions."

Enns says a big question on the survey deals with why people chose to live in Niverville. She notes most people she talked to have a story or a reason why they chose Niverville. She adds the research will still take some time to complete and compile, but so far the results have been very positive.

"People love this place. Even talking to people at the home inspiration show, just how much they love it here. Mostly people have been on board with deciding to move here whatever their situation and have grown to love it. I can't speak for everybody, but the majority is positive."

Enns says she is interested in learning about communter's transportation on a broad scale and why people chose to live in these small communities rather than in the outskirts of Winnipeg. She says the Niverville Chamber of Commerce and town council have both expressed interest in her study and how the information can be used to improve Niverville.