Community Livability

Community Livability

Author: Fritz Wagner

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-06-25

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1136512551

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What is a livable community? How do you design and develop one? What does government at all levels need to do to support and nuture the cause of livable communities? Using a blend of theory and practice, experts in the field look at evidence from international, state and local perspectives to explore what is meant by the term "livable communities". Chapters examine the various influencing factors such as the effect and importance of transportation options/alternatives to the elderly, the significance of walkability as a factor in developing a livable and healthy community, the importance of good open space providing for human activity and health, restorative benefits, the importance of coordinated land use and transportation planning, and the relationship between livability and quality of life. While much of the discussion of this topic is usually theoretical and abstract, Wagner and Caves use case studies from North America, Brazil and the United Kingdom to provide substantive examples of initiatives implemented across the world. This book fills an important gap in the literature on livable communities and at the same time assists policy officials, professionals and academics in their quest to develop livable communities.


Livability

Livability

Author: Jon Raymond

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2009-07-01

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1608191613

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A tired man, struggling to overcome the loss of his wife in a car accident. Two old friends, hoping to rediscover their connection on a trip to the woods. A screenwriter hoping to hear news about the future of his film. In Jon Raymond's deft, nuanced stories, these and other characters contend with the frustrations, longings, and mood swings we face every day. Artfully conveying the feeling of lived experience, these stories brim with gratifying sensory detail: the sound of a tree root snapping underfoot, the smell of a roast, the stillness of the air after music has stopped. And, with careful observations and a humane spirit, Livability gives us a portrait of America full of characters finding ways to survive their own choices. Published to coincide with the national release of Wendy and Lucy, these refined, elegiac stories are the work of a writer with a long and promising career ahead of him.


Growing Smarter

Growing Smarter

Author: Robert D. Bullard

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2007-01-12

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 0262524708

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The smart growth movement aims to combat urban and suburban sprawl by promoting livable communities based on pedestrian scale, diverse populations, and mixed land use. But, as this book documents, smart growth has largely failed to address issues of social equity and environmental justice. Smart growth sometimes results in gentrification and displacement of low- and moderate-income families in existing neighborhoods, or transportation policies that isolate low-income populations. Growing Smarter is one of the few books to view smart growth from an environmental justice perspective, examining the effect of the built environment on access to economic opportunity and quality of life in American cities and metropolitan regions. The contributors to Growing Smarter—urban planners, sociologists, economists, educators, lawyers, health professionals, and environmentalists—all place equity at the center of their analyses of "place, space, and race." They consider such topics as the social and environmental effects of sprawl, the relationship between sprawl and concentrated poverty, and community-based regionalism that can link cities and suburbs. They examine specific cases that illustrate opportunities for integrating environmental justice concerns into smart growth efforts, including the dynamics of sprawl in a South Carolina county, the debate over the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and transportation-related pollution in Northern Manhattan. Growing Smarter illuminates the growing racial and class divisions in metropolitan areas today—and suggests workable strategies to address them.


Livable Cities from a Global Perspective

Livable Cities from a Global Perspective

Author: Roger W. Caves

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-05-11

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1315523396

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Livable Cities from a Global Perspective offers case studies from around the world on how cities approach livability. They address the fundamental question, what is considered "livable?" The journey each city has taken or is currently taking is unique and context specific. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to livability. Some cities have had a long history of developing livability policies and programs that focus on equity, economic, and environmental concerns, while other cities are relatively new to the game. In some areas, government has taken the lead while in other areas, grassroots activism has been the impetus for livability policies and programs. The challenge facing our cities is not simply developing a livability program. We must continually monitor and readjust policies and programs to meet the livability needs of all people. The case studies investigate livability issues in such cities as Austin, Texas; Helsinki, Finland; London, United Kingdom; Warsaw, Poland; Tehran, Iran; Salt Lake City, United States; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sydney, Australia; and Cape Town, South Africa. The chapters are organized into such themes as livability in capital city regions, livability and growth and development, livability and equity concerns, livability and metrics, and creating livability. Each chapter provides unique insights into how a specific area has responded to calls for livable cities. In doing so, the book adds to the existing literature in the field of livable cities and provides policy makers and other organizations with information and alternative strategies that have been developed and implemented in an effort to become a livable city.


The Road to Livability

The Road to Livability

Author:

Publisher: AASHTO

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13: 1560514825

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The report includes examples of the many ways states are working to enhance a community attractiveness, build its local economy, create a sense of place, preserve its character, enhance its safety, and improve access to services.


Community and Quality of Life

Community and Quality of Life

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2002-08-09

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0309082609

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"Quality of life"..."livability"..."sense of place." Communities across America are striving to define these terms and to bring them to life, as they make decisions about transportation systems and other aspects of planning and development. Community and Quality of Life discusses important concepts that undergird community life and offers recommendations for collaborative planning across space and time. The book explores: Livability as an ensemble concept, embracing notions such as quality of place and sustainability. It discusses how to measure the "three legs" of livability (social, economic, ecological) while accounting for politics and personal values. And the book examines how to translate broad ideas about livability into guidelines for policymaking Place as more than location, including the natural, human-built, and social environments. The book discusses the impact of population changes over time, the links between regional and local identity, and other issues Tools for decision making in transportation and community planning. It reviews a variety of decision models and tools such as geographic information systems (GIS)â€"as well as public and private sources of relevant data. Including several case examples, this book will be important to planners, planning decision makers, planning educators and students, social scientists, community activists, and interested individuals.