Livable community:A sense of place part-I

Crunchy numbers, crispy stats

A livable community is one where people “wish to live” in a place where they can find work, shop, socialise and access to entertainment. It is a complex issue when we talk about “wish to live” i.e. something varies between people across gender, age, rural, urban, class and caste. But when it is viewed as community it is ‘Sense of Place (Spatial)’ and it is ‘Sentiments (Social)’.

Part one deals with sense of place and is important to understand what is livable community? It is physical space created with well planned housing area such as residential with two important and distinct services and facilities. It consists of (a) utilities and services such as access to water, power, waste disposal which are confined to the building services and (b) community facilities such as roads and streets, parks, play grounds, shops, worship places, community halls, schools, health centers etc.

The perspective of a residential neighbourhood – a community as sense of place includes the local area or even the entire city. People appreciate the place of living which is connected with well-designed transportation system, access to natural areas, parks, trails and proximity to needed services, shopping and jobs.

The house area, streets and community spaces of our cities and towns are an important part of the livability of the communities. They ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper. But many buildings, community spaces and streets are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams etc. They are unsafe for people on foot or bike – and unpleasant for everybody.

The community with extreme group of people belongs to children and old age groups are vulnerable in terms of their neoghbourhood livability. In cities and towns without proper spatial planning and governance the residential neighbourhoods are not livable places due to various reasons. For example, the baby boom in United States brought about tremendous demographic pressure.

The nation responded to the need for children by investing in school construction, teacher education, public health, transportation and housing to make communities more livable. On the other hand the population in US experienced demographic revolution. There are about 10,000 people who turn 65 years of age each day. Also the number of people above the age of 65 will outnumber children who are 15 for the first time in US history.

So the nation making an attempt to redefine what it means to make communities livable. More than 90 percent of the 60-plus population wants to stay where they live as they get older and are seeking ways to adapt their current home and community to their needs. So what makes a community livable?

A truly livable community is designed for all ages and not only supports but appeals to residents from the youngest children to the oldest adults. Well-maintained sidewalks, safe crosswalks, play area and parks help older people and children with limited mobility as well as parents pushing strollers. Transportation options help residents who may no longer drive get to the grocery store and students get to study.

Open spaces as parks and play areas help all age groups to relax, access to natural spaces, and lead a healthy living. Livable communities bring individuals a higher quality of life, they also promote economic growth. People of all ages benefit from having jobs, shopping, health care, recreation and volunteer opportunities closer to home. And communities benefit by becoming more desirable places to live and to visit.

Everyone needs access to housing, transit choices and health care services. But the concept of livable communities goes further in to the broad areas includes land-use decisions that emphasize convenience and access. These communities work to keep the environment clean and public spaces safe, green and appealing.

They incorporate principles of universal design in home building and renovation (for example, wide-front doorways, zero-step entrances, and easy-to-grasp door handles). And, they incorporate "My Streets" policies that focus on safety and comfort for everyone on the streets including drivers, pedestrians, transit riders and bicyclists.

Livability as well as community livability refers to the environmental quality of an area as perceived by residents, employees, customers and visitors. Livability is affected by a community’s environmental quality, aesthetics, and accessibility. This includes safety and health (traffic safety, personal security, and public health), local environmental conditions (cleanliness, noise, dust, air quality, and water quality), opportunities for recreation and entertainment, aesthetics, and existence of unique cultural and environmental resources (e.g., historic structures, mature trees, and traditional architectural styles).

Open space planning should be an integral aspect of livable communities. So planning of parks and open space are local but also central to the region's quality of life and environment, lead to the network of parks, forest preserves, and lakefront areas that we now enjoy. The network must grow along with our region through planned investments in a regional network of ‘Green Infrastructure Corridors (GIC)’ that connect fields, parks, river, hills and other open spaces.

The capital city Amaravathi has a wonderful opportunity to create a GIC by integrating land, filed, water and hills as a livable area by preparing Capital Open Space Plan (COSP). Making of Livable Community and creating a Sense of Place in Amaravathi needs more specific care not to damage but to improve the natural environment and the human capital. Dr. Abdul Razak Mohamed, DEAN of Studies & HOD Planning, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada