Planning for LivabilityJeffrey Soule, FAICP, Director of International Programs, American Planning Association

IntroductionThe term “Livability” has many definitions and provokes a wide range of concepts and approaches. In many aspects livability has been used so much by so many perspectives that it lacks the clarity needed to fully understand what it means for effective application. In my experience stemming from years of hands-on planning in communities of all sizes and locations, one lesson is that one size does not fit all in terms of creating livability. Anyone concerned about a brighter future for the next generation across the globe should promote a tailored, custom solution to the unique needs and situations faced by a complete range of communities and cultures. In order for the concept of livability to have meaning, it needs to be tied to measures that reflect where we are and whether what we do is making us more or less livable. Without agreement on specific measures to promote livability, similar to the subject of “sustainability”, we will continue to see policies and programs that profess to promote livability, without actually changing anything. Some important elements of livability include public safety, education, health care, culture, environment, recreation, political-economic stability and public transportation.

Places for all age groups to enjoy. Photo Jeff Soule

Livability perspectivesPatterns of human development – physical, social, and economic – affect livability at the local and the global level. Comprehensive city and regional planning helps define how, where, and when human settlement occurs. The location of urban development and the choices for reusing

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and adapting cities make a huge difference in resource consumption, convenience, and the day to day experience of urban residents. Planners can play a crucial role in improving the livability of communities and the government, private and social systems that support them. Livability, seen broadly, should address the well-being of the entire spectrum of citizens across all income levels and backgrounds. The policies and implementation practices for livable communities is a value-based effort to achieve what is right for society as a whole in any community.

Livability can and should be a partnership among different levels of government, along with the private sector. For example, under President Obama, the Federal Sustainability Partnership of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation worked with public and private organizations to promote six livability principles to guide federal policies:

Provide more transportation choices.  Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.Promote equitable, affordable housing.Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.Enhance economic competitiveness.Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.Support existing communities.Target federal funding toward existing communities—through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling—to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.Coordinate policies and leverage investment.Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.Value communities and neighborhoods.Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.

Old economic theories about the stages of economic development also prevent more attention to livability from an environmental standpoint. Clearly, clean air and clean water are fundamental to livable places. The outdated notion that a country needs to go through a “polluting phase” to achieve economic growth is really only an excuse for not paying attention to the tools and techniques readily available to provide clean air and water. Without a clean environment, people simply cannot live a healthy life which is essential to productivity and well-being. Economist Jeffrey Sachs has written extensively about economic development practices designed to improve the quality of life for everyone.

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Valuing urban design at the human scaleOne of the key aspects of livability is making cities and towns safe for people. Livable cities make extra efforts to be pedestrian oriented and offer a variety of services and activities within walking distance for everyone. Urban space should not be only for automobiles and local governments need to enforce policies and laws to protect pedestrian safety. Rapidly urbanizing countries around the globe, including China, have experienced alarming rates of death for pedestrians and bicyclists. Safety for people in an urban environment is one of the fundamental aspects of livability. According to a University of North Carolina report from 2010: “Even more distressing is the fact that children are particularly at risk in road crashes. Approximately 21% of road traffic deaths involve children, yielding an average of 720 child deaths related to road traffic crashes per day. These crashes are also the leading cause of child disability (WHO & United Nations Children’s Fund 2008). Judging by these astonishing statistics, the topic of pedestrian safety is certainly pertinent for planners, engineers, and legislators around the world.”http://katana.hsrc.unc.edu/cms/downloads/VRUFinalPaper%20FINAL_02.01.11.pdf

Architecture and public spaces can contribute to human scale by offering a variety of places and pathways that guide as well as protect pedestrians. This means establishing standards for usable open space, not formulas that can be manipulated. Small parks, wide and even sidewalks, safe bicycle lanes, lighting, and good signage are among the elements of human scaled, safe and inviting environments. Blocks and streets that are closely spaced offer easier access for people to get the things they need on a daily basis, reducing transportation demand and making places more livable. Too often different agencies with competing agendas make decisions that collectively create a pedestrian nightmare, where access to bus stops, subway entrances, sidewalks and building entrances require navigating an obstacle course. As the US federal agencies above have shown, by cooperating the human experience can be improved to everyone’s benefit. Agency cooperation to make human friendly urban spaces is essential to livability.

Respect for pedestrians is a key to livability. Photo Jeff Soule

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Planning with participation

APA 2012 Youth Forum on Sustainable Cities. Photo Jason Zhang

One of the key aspects of creating livable communities is to engage all participants in the process of shaping, nurturing and sustaining places. The splintering of places into precincts for narrow interests ultimately cannot sustain a holistic, livable community or society. We have seen through experience that the places around the world that provide good living conditions for children and the elderly while providing opportunities for people economically and socially are the places that succeed over time. To support truly livable communities, we need to ask people what they think and what constitutes livability for them. Making a just society where the young and old, rich and poor have access to the keys to a higher quality of life as they define it, require that we make our plans and policies according to their participation in the process. Planners should be trained and adept in facilitating useful participation that balances the needs of the society and the concerns of its members.

At the American Planning Association (APA) annual conference in Los Angeles, we cosponsored a Youth Forum on Sustainable Cities in cooperation with our Chinese partners. It is critical that we reach out to young people from all disciplines and all countries to engage them in the process of shaping the future. Too many times, their voices are not at the table when decisions are made yet their generation will be most affected.

Improving citizen access to decision making requires understanding the institutions, systems and current approach to local governance and then make informed—often incremental--changes that lead to a participatory approach. Although civic engagement varies from place to place, some general goals to improve the process apply to every community:

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A big-picture view, local planning process, access to information, long-term perspective and, an objective facilitator

The primary objective of participation is to make community-informed decisions. Developing effective and well-managed neighborhood groups is a key component in improving community engagement. No matter where in the world we are, the process should start by asking fundamental questions of social equity: “Who benefits?” and “Who pays?” And “Pays” means not only dollars, but in bad environmental conditions, lack of access to services and other impacts of inequitable development. Civic engagement requires careful and committed management to ensure local concerns are addressed equitably and consistently across different perspectives and timeframes. Where there is a very short history of open access to governance, discussions of social equity and the costs and benefits of urbanization are valuable to identify ways to open up the process within the existing context.

Managing participation means being very clear about the purpose, outcomes and expectations. For instance, community organizers must be honest about what the process can achieve in terms of impact. People engaged in the discussion need to know what the role of local participants will be. What areas can citizens make suggestions that are still under discussion by the government? How will the government follow up and respond to citizen suggestions? What is the time frame for the plan, project or program? Many times, lack of management results in lack of trust, disappointment and misunderstandings simply because what can and cannot be achieved was not spelled out.

Developing a culture of community planning and participation must be cultivated over time to show the community the process works and produces positive results. Every city or town is a collection of communities of interests. A solid participation program understands how both the individual and the communities of interest benefit from a comprehensive vision. To explore citizen engagement, start with a discussion of issues that offer an opportunity for people to talk to each other in a non-threatening environment with no decisions on the table.

If a community develops a community vision as the base of understanding, shared purpose and collective support for moving forward on specific activities, problems on specific issues can be avoided when a broad discussion of values and ideas informs individual community activities. In a community where no vision setting has occurred, a specific proposal will be viewed based on isolated wants and needs, and communities of interest. A vision and plan adds knowledge of civic benefits, costs and community impact and the basis for further plans, strategies and tools. Often, elected or appointed officials fear participation because they view it as a loss of control. On the contrary, a jointly developed vision provides the leaders with the basis of agreement to move forward with an agenda to meet local needs. With a community vision and participation,

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mayors can have their short term projects and visible achievements, but within an overall strategy—a win-win situation.

Building the context and setting a discussion framework will entail a wide variety of techniques including Interviews and focus groups, public meetings, surveys, design charrettes, social and electronic media and community planning assistance teams to mention a few.

Civic engagement is essential to good planning and good governance. Using the outline here and some of the tools and techniques that apply to your own situation, you can improve the quality of life for everyone. A detailed guide with more case studies from the US can be found at: http://www.planning.org/communicationsguide/pdf/section7.pdf

ConclusionWidespread urbanization in both the U.S. and around the world is one of the most significant demographic trends seen today. Unplanned and uncaring urbanization can be alienating, increase the gap between the rich and poor, use precious energy resources and provide uneven livability. On the positive side populations in urbanizing areas experience lower birth rates, higher educational attainments, and smaller carbon footprints. For increased livability of our urbanization to be realized for everyone, there are things we need to do better:1 Improve citizen involvement. We must engage each other in the discussion of the choices we have based on knowledge and information sharing. Planners are especially trained to help citizens become more informed and engaged in shaping a more sustainable future. In many places, citizens do not have a direct voice in development decisions and resource allocation and participatory governance a new concept that needs our support.2 Plan according to Nature. Look at the regional picture and protect sensitive areas from urbanization. Much of today’s urbanization is occurring in areas of high risk for natural disasters: coastal and delta regions, earthquake and tsunami prone areas and places susceptible to sea level rise. Planning for hazard mitigation and avoidance is a critical effort that is often overlooked. We must not continue to place people in harm’s way through lack of planning.3 Respect and learn from traditional patterns and techniques. Today the world is more interconnected than ever and we can recognize and value cultural differences and approaches to creating places. In many cases, historical building styles and materials embody the essence of low energy and sustainability. Equating high technology with modernity is a concept that needs to be questioned as we examine and respect the traditional settlements, designs and cultures that can inform our options.4 Value people and their needs at every level. Livability means everyone should have a safe, nurturing environment: from safe streets and sidewalks, to clean air and water to access to jobs, livability requires that governments, private businesses and local community groups work together cooperatively. 5 Develop indicators on key elements of livability such as public health, environmental quality, public transportation, job availability, education, participation and safety. Every

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community can improve the quality of life for citizens with attention and directing resources in a coordinated and targeting manner.

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