Livability – A Case Study

Today’s lesson will be looking specifically at the development and needs of a what is termed a ‘livable city’. To begin with, let’s look at the trailer for a reality TV show where experts are put in a situation and then asked to create a ‘livable’ community? Would you participate in this show?

The Colony

Livability [of a city] is generally understood to encompass those elements of home, neighborhood, and metropolitan area that contribute to safety, economic opportunities and welfare, health, convenience, mobility, and recreation…

There are three major sets of objectives for achieving a livable city:

Human-oriented and environmentally friendly, with features that make it attractive and make living in it convenient, safe, and pleasant; a high degree of sustainability is a component of this characteristic
Economically viable and efficient
Socially sound — that is, without social, economic, or ethnic barriers, or wide variations in income, crime, and unrest; there should be a sense of togetherness and pride in the city and region.

The following links provide an overview of the worlds most livable cities – according to surveys created to measure the communities quality of life. It is based on a number of indicators.

Mercer 2009 Quality of Living Survey

World’s Top 100 Most Livable Cities

Portland – Quest for a Sustainable City

Portland is considered to be one of America’s more liveable cities. This is mainly due to the nature of community participation in the city. Watch the You Tube movie below and take notes on the following:

1. What does Portland look like? Does it look like an inviting place to live in?

2. How has urban planning determined how liveable Portland is?

Your Task – Dubai – An Impossible City – Is it Livable?

The You Tube Clips below are a Discovery Channel Documentary on the issues faced by the building of Dubai. Would you consider Dubai to be a livable city? Using the criteria we have discussed in class, create a checklist and make comments on the livability of Dubai. Following this, put together either a written report, iMovie or Powerpoint on the livability of Dubai in relation to these criteria.

This task is an S/N task and must be submitted by the end of the lesson on Friday.

Discovery Channel – Impossible City – Part 1