Abstract
Livability is one of the major guiding principles for urban planning and policymaking, of which the definition and evaluation have become the crucial research topic. As the progress in socioeconomic development accelerates, the microscale living conditions require more urgent attention. However, few researchers have addressed the assessment of urban livability at a finer spatial scale such as the community scale. Thus, this article aims to evaluate the urban environmental quality at the community level given the residential community as the basic unit of urban living areas. We select eighteen objective indicators from five dimensions to establish an objective indicator system. Taking the preferences of different age groups into account, a comprehensive evaluation framework for the livability of communities combining both subjective perceptions and objective indicator is constructed. Then, it is applied to evaluate the livability of 1,394 residential communities in Ningbo City. There are three significant results from the study. First, different age groups have diverse preferences of demands to the livability of an urban community. The indicators they valued most concentrated in the following two dimensions: the convenience of transportation and the completeness of supporting facilities. Second, there exists significant heterogeneity in the livability of communities among districts. Third, the livability of communities shows a decreasing spatial pattern from the city center to the surroundings. These empirical results can be advantageous to urban planning departments and other relevant stakeholders.
Highlights
Human settlements are the basis for human survival and development. ey provide places for various human activities, including residence, work, education, health, culture, and entertainment [1]. e quality of human settlements normally exerts great influence on human health and wellbeing
Considering the diverse groups’ preferences, a comprehensive evaluation framework for the livability of communities combining subjective perceptions and objective indicator system is constructed. en, this framework is applied to 1,394 residential communities in Ningbo, to obtain some significant findings. is study has some contributions to the existing research area
This paper focuses on the finer scale of environmental quality and selects the residential community as the object to evaluate and analyze its livability, which is in accordance with the inevitable tendency of the living environment from macro to micro
Summary
Human settlements are the basis for human survival and development. ey provide places for various human activities, including residence, work, education, health, culture, and entertainment [1]. e quality of human settlements normally exerts great influence on human health and wellbeing. Human settlements are the basis for human survival and development. E quality of human settlements normally exerts great influence on human health and wellbeing. The urban environmental quality has received extensive attention from the academic community, as well as the governments and the public. To describe and measure urban environmental quality, the terms of livability and related concepts such as sustainability, quality of life, and wellbeing enjoy great popularity. An initial definition of livability is proposed by Pacione [9] and it is defined as a quality that is not an attribute inherent in the environment but is behavior-related function of the interaction between environmental
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