There exists a broad social movement to create livable communities for all people, yet confusion remains about what “livable” really means. Livability can encompass everything from planting street trees to revolutionizing public transportation. A livable community can be one that cultivates leadership everywhere, creates a sense of community, connects people and resources, practices ongoing dialogue, embraces diversity, operationalizes racial justices and shapes its future.

This report seeks to organize the concept of community livability by providing a framework through which to consider cities and their policies, and to arm policymakers with a tool by which they can assess the scalability of different approaches.