Liveability

Place and liveability examines the concept of place through an investigation of liveability.

'Liveability' is defined as the qualities of a place such as a city, town, suburb or neighbourhood

And how these qualities contribute to the quality of life experienced by its residents and others

To do: Liveability survey

  1. Brain storm elements of liveability. What are the factors that make a city liveable?

  2. Do a street liveability survey at the the two locations Singapore and Kibera township in Nairobi, Kenya.

  3. List the elements that make the two locations liveable and unliveable.

Possible liveability factors:

  • Bike paths and pedestrian access

  • Street trees and plants

  • Rubbish and building

Extra: What are the barriers to making a township like Libera liveable?

Monocle magazine does a Liveable City Survey every year.

What is the value of a survey like this? Who would use it?

2. Suburb liveability survey

Activity 1. Surveying the liveability of your suburb

Geographers use surveys to examine geographical factors such as liveability.

In this activity we will design a survey to measure the liveability of your neighborhood.

As a warm up, as a class you could brainstorm the factors you believe make a neighborhood liveable.

We will use the following six (6) factors to measure your neighborhoods liveability

  1. Environment

  2. Climate (3 will be enough)                       

  3. Streetscapes                 

  4. Parks and gardens               

  5. Maintenance of public spaces         

  6. Personal safety          

Use the following steps to design your Liveability survey

Rate each factor on a scale of 1-5 (1 is terrible and 5 is miraculous)

You can then add up a score for your indicator, in this example Environment gets a score of 18

Use photos to illustrate your results.

You can download the Liveability survey template to create your own liveability survey

 Environmental factors example

cleanliness: 1 2 3 4 5                

noise: 1 2 3 4 5                  

dust: 1 2 3 4 5                    

air quality 1 2 3 4 5                             

clean, well maintained buildings etc: 1 2 3 4 5

Environment factor score: 18

2. Liveable city survey

Activity 2. Surveying the liveability of an international city

Imagine that you are a Liveability consultant who has been asked to investigate the liveability of a major city for a client.

To do: investigate the liveability of your city and present the results in a Slideshow

You will need to investigate the liveability of your city and present the results in a Slideshow

Slideshow tips

  • Design a visually appealing slideshow       

  • Include images to support your findings

  • Present information in your own words

  • Arrange your information in an easy to follow way.

Use the following 9 liveability factors as a guide for your Slideshow.

  1. What is the population of your city? What is the population density? Is it a crowded city?

  2. What is the cost of living? Numbeo - restaurant meal city comparison

  3. Is there good public transport? Include a map.

  4. What is the climate? Include a climate graph

  5. Is crime a problem, will employees be safe? (Crime rate)

  6. What is local local health care like? (Use country statistics: Doctors per 1000 people)

  7. Can we expect our employees to have a good lifestyle?

    Examples of attractions- theatre, sporting arenas, concerts, museums, shopping etc

    What about using google street view to show the restaurant scene?

 Extra: Numbeo - cost of living is a useful site for examining the cost of living in your city.

New York has an extensive public transport system.