Webcast: What makes a city livable?

[Parkguy]

FYI-- this is an archive of a recent webcast from the Philips Livable Cities Award. It is a discussion about what makes a city livable. Interesting, with some good insights about ideas we hear all the time. It runs about 45 minutes.

http://www.because.philips.com/livab...debate-webcast

[Detroitnerd]

Lots of free parking, pedestrian tubeways between buildings, freeways girdling the downtown, plenty of park-in-front businesses, lots of concrete, low taxes at any cost, and ...

Oh, wait: It isn't 1961 anymore. ...

[DetroitPlanner]

Lots of free parking, pedestrian tubeways between buildings, freeways girdling the downtown, plenty of park-in-front businesses, lots of concrete, low taxes at any cost, and ...

Oh, wait: It isn't 1961 anymore. ...

You forgot Casinos.

Actually what makes a City livable depends on the person.

[Detroitnerd]

You forgot Casinos.

Actually what makes a City livable depends on the person.

To a certain extent. But if somebody is going to tell me that what makes a city livable is having a large home on a large parcel away from people, I'm going to have to say that that is what destroys a city, not what makes it livable. Same thing goes for lack of diversity in people, jobs, classes, transit modes, etc.

Some things really are just inimical to cities.

[gazhekwe]

Pedestrian walkways, places/parks/shopping/services to walk to, safe environment for walking [[no muggings or drive-bys), mass transit to connect walkable areas, parking for shopping/services/parks, neighborhoods with shopping/parks/services within walking distance, bicycle/trike/quadricycle friendly ways, also.

[GOAT]

1) crime reduction

2) good schools

3) quality of life