A prevailing theme of the Mayor’s race in Charleston surrounds the question of “livability.” We’ve seen it in print media, newspapers and magazines, and it is coming up with some frequency related to our question: If You Were Mayor…?
“Livability” is certainly perceived by different segments of the population in many different ways (stayed tuned for more on this in the future). Before our website’s launch, we had accumulated more than five years of research covering the topic, including numerous lists and metrics that ranged from The Economist magazine’s rankings, rooted in establishing equitable compensation for corporate executives in cities around the world, to the rather quaint “Popsicle Index,” which queries whether it is safe for a child to go alone to a nearby shop, purchase a popsicle, and walk home.
Is there a way to collect and process these lists into a single authoritative resource? “Livability” basically comes down to how people can live and thrive in the city. We slice the topic of livability into five pieces that cover many areas constituting the foundation of a truly “great” city for its residents – Transportation; Education; Economic Opportunity; Arts & Culture; and, Neighborhoods, Parks, & Housing. You can say, as Descartes might, that your posted ideas and initiatives contribute to the city’s “inventory of the possible.”
Don’t get tripped up, however, on “Liveable v. Lovable,” as noted in this article from the Financial Times. This conundrum presents the case for those characteristics common to the world’s “great cities” – characteristics that bear consideration while possibly challenging one’s commonly held beliefs: (1) Diversity of people, wanting to come to the city in droves; (2) Tolerance, which is required to make diversity work; (3) Density of commercial, residential, and cultural activities; (4) Blend of beauty and ugliness, to both lift the soul and ensure there are parts of the city than can accommodate change; (5) Social mix of people, from different economic strata in close proximity to each other creating liveliness; and, (6) Civility, which is impossible to measure (but held in spades by Charleston).
Aspire to livability and greatness.
