Liveability standards for cities; an urban design framework

Abstract

“A liveable community is one that has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services, and adequate mobility options, which together facilitate personal independence and the engagement of residents in civic and social life” (AARP, 2005). A broad concept, Liveability encompasses everything from basic human needs of food, shelter and security to higher order requirements of an individual and social material and immaterial well-being. Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey, which is the basis for both Global Liveability Index and Forbes Liveable Cities Ranking, looks at the criteria of Recreation, Housing, Economic Environment, Consumer goods availability, Public Services and transport, Political and Social environment, Natural Environment, Socio-cultural environment, School and Education, Medical and health considerations. Similarly, world over, most liveability indices focus on quantitative aspects of infrastructure availability that, while related to, are not themselves elements of the built environment, and the Urban Design components that ensure various facets of Community Liveability have not been looked into in detail. The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of India, has developed a set of ‘Liveability Standards in Cities’ to generate a Liveability Index and rate cities. Here too, the focus is on urban infrastructure, and disregards how the built environment influences how people relate to each other, creates opportunity for community to form, and strengthens depth of our social networks which in turn facilitates social cohesion, cultural continuity, sense of place identity, and resilience of community. The disjunction between the supportive infrastructure that facilitate the urban life and inadequacy in addressing the basics of liveability in terms of urban design framework are addressed in this paper and focusing on high-density, mixed-use urban neighbourhoods, further attempts to supplement the ‘Liveability Standards in Cities’ with additional urban design criteria to make it a comprehensive tool to assess Liveability of Cities.