This score rates the overall livability of a selected neighborhood, city, county, or state on a scale from 0 to 100. It is based on the average score of seven livability categories—housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement, and opportunity—which also range from 0 to 100. We score communities by comparing them to one another, so the average community gets a score of 50, while above-average communities score higher and below-average communities score lower.
All scoring begins at the neighborhood level. Cities, counties, and states receive a score based on the average scores of neighborhoods within their boundaries. Most communities have a range of more- or less-livable neighborhoods, but for a community to get a high score, neighborhoods throughout it need to score well. This makes it even more challenging for a city, county, or state to get a high score: the more neighborhoods there are within a given boundary, the less likely it will be that all of them have high scores.
Creating a livable community is challenging, and so is getting a high livability score. To get a perfect score of 100, a neighborhood would have to be among the best in the country in each of the seven livability categories. Scoring highly across all categories is difficult. For example, a transit-rich neighborhood has its benefits, but it can also drive up housing prices. To help that neighborhood score highly in both categories, community leaders would have to commit to ensuring affordable housing near public transit is available.
Lansing, MI
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Lansing is the capital and fifth largest city of Michigan. A key player in the early automotive industry, Lansing now functions as a center for technology, insurance, higher education, and government. The city has a wide variety of options for culture, community, and entertainment, including yearly music festivals that attract fans of jazz and blues, professional and collegiate sports teams, theater and dance companies, farmers markets, libraries, and museums. Nearly 10% of Lansing’s residents are over age 65.
Lansing joined the AARP network of Age-Friendly Communities in 2015. The cityhas completed the survey phase and is organizing committees, said Andy Kilpatrick, the city’s transportation engineer and a leader in its age-friendly initiative.
“We want to put together a complete guide of what is available to older citizens and to build on earlier efforts,” Kilpatrick said.
Ideas include adding express bus service to a regional shopping center, training selected taxi drivers in assisting older and special-needs passengers, and making sure sidewalks and intersection crossings are accessible, Kilpatrick said.
Funding for most projects comes from the local governments’ budgets, though in some cases the action plan helps communities apply for outside grants.
One of the earlier efforts Lansing is building on is a Complete Streets ordinance, passed in 2009. The ordinance encourages non-motorized transportation options and transportation accessibility for people of all ages and ability levels.
The Lansing Parks and Recreation Department offers programs specifically geared toward seniors, including fitness classes, legal advice, and digital literacy. The city also hosts a Senior Activities Fair, and provides basic needs assistance for elders in the community.
Lansing scores well in the Housing category due to its affordability and a policy that protects homeowners from losing their homes to foreclosure. Lansing also scores well in Environment—this is because the area has good air quality and clean, safe drinking water.
Lansing residents also enjoy easy access to high quality healthcare, and this is reflected in the city’s high score in the Health category.
To learn more about Lansing, click here: http://www.lansingmi.gov/
Revised: May 2017
The 8 Domains of Livability
As a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, Lansing’s leaders commit to a continual cycle of improvement in the eight domains the World Health Organization has identified as influencing the health and quality of life of older adults:
- Outdoor spaces and buildings
- Transportation
- Housing
- Social participation
- Respect and social inclusion
- Civic participation and employment
- Communication and information
- Community support and health services
Learn more about the domains by visiting the “8 Domains of Livability” slideshow.
For more information on the Age-Friendly Network, go to aarp.org/agefriendly.