Introduction
What is Livability?
“Quality of life.” This is a phrase or concept that is intuitively understood by everyone. It is usually referred to or defined at the personal level, and extends to a more interpersonal level in our communities; it defines how connected the people are to one another. “Livability” expands the notion to an even more general audience, and thus opens the door to more diverse and objective meaning regardless of the size of a given market or community.
Several organizations routinely rate the livability of U.S. communities. Money Magazine annually ranks the best places to retire based on “vitality, great quality of life, affordable housing, plenty to see and do,” etc. Many health and social care organizations are also beginning to use the concept of livability as a focus of their interventions. They are viewing health as not only the absence of disease, but also the condition of people’s social networks, job opportunities, and natural environment.
One thing is clear about the definition of “livability,” however—there is no single measure of it. Planners, citizen groups, social scientists, and politicians usually employ a combination of environmental-, economic-, social-, and civic-related measurements in an attempt to explore and study the quality of life that reflects the overall livability within a community.
