Ransom Riggs
What Makes a City “Liveable”?
by Ransom Riggs - August 4, 2009 - 1:02 PM

IMG_2931

I just got back from five days in Oregon, mostly in Portland (AKA Stumptown, Bridgetown, the City of Roses, the Metropolis of Aggressively Bohemian Baristas) — a place I lived for ten months seven years ago and have been quietly pining for ever since. My brief return confirmed that it is indeed a wonderful place in more than just the nostalgia-fog of my memory; friendly, clean, temperate, green, cultured, convenient and close to an embarrassment of natural wonders, it’s often called “one of the most liveable cities in the US.” Which got me to wondering: though I hear the term fairly often, I’m not entirely sure I understand what “liveable” means. Los Angeles has its challenges, but also its unique pleasures, and I don’t find it particularly difficult to live here — but never in a million years would Outdoor magazine dub it “liveable.” So what does it take to earn such a title?

Of course, ultimately it comes down to the subjective discretion of the editors of the books and magzines which dub cities things. They often develop their own pseudo-scientific systems: the editors of the Rand McNally Places Rated Almanac, for example, use a point system that awards points for every local medical school, and subtracts points for each air pollutant that exceeds the EPA’s standard. The New York Times tackled this sticky topic back in 1987:

Health, crime, housing, education, culture and recreation are assigned equal importance. Pittsburgh, which ranks just 78th on crime, makes up for it with a 12th-place finish in the arts. That’s fine for people who find Mozart divine. But those who put a much higher premium on safe streets would probably be happier in Wheeling, W. Va., which ranks best on crime but only 181st over all. There is a yet subtler problem with [liveability indexes]. Some of the negative qualities cited in the almanac could as easily reflect a city’s attractions. Santa Barbara, Calif., for example, ranks 323d on housing costs, pulling its livability ranking down to 97th. Surely, though, the main reason housing is so expensive is that so many people want to live there.

Such strange rubrics are the reason that places like New York City — a place where something like half the people I went to college with happily moved after graduating and to which they have since become slavishly devoted — never ranks very high on these lists. “Smaller cities in California and the middle South generally do well on the index. Big cities everywhere do badly – Denver is the only one in the top 25. New York is 216th, but still ahead of Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and Houston. St. Louis brings up the rear.”

The St. Louis Business Journal weighed in on the livability issue in 2004, summing up the current thinking about the core of their city thusly:

Cities (in the eyes of current favored civic developers around these parts) now seem to be mere office parks where commerce and a dash of law is done and little else. A city is no longer a place to live. It’s a place to be big, visible and ply a trade. A quick check of the residences of the current, approved developer players will show that a real, personal, life investment in downtown is quite absent.

That certainly doesn’t sound livable; it also doesn’t sound like every city I know.

In this post-9/11 world, there are other factors to a city’s perceived liveability, too. The Economist called Vancouver, Canada the world’s most liveable city this year, and aside from the usual factors (health care, crime, schools, wages, etc), the survey also said that “In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with a lower perceived threat of terrorism.”

How liveable is the place you live? What factors make it that way?

(Pictured at top: Portland at sunset from the top of Mount Tabor, the city’s extinct volcano, two days ago.)

For a musical take on liveability, check out Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard (a guy from Portland) singing “Why You’d Want to Live Here,” a rather derogatory song about the place I live, Los Angeles:

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Comments (32)

  1. Portland sucks. It rains every day. The streets are clogged. The people are crabby.

    Stay away. Except in January, when the weather is best.

    Don’t even visit in summer, the rain and cold is unbearable.

    And there is nothing to do and the beer sucks.

    Please stay where you are, save yourself from the desolate, rainy mess that is Oregon.

    Stay away. Please.

    posted by cecil on 8-4-2009 at 1:11 pm

  2. Delaware gets NO love from any site i’ve looked at for livability rankings. The state itself is ranked 17th based off of statemaster.com’s rankings system. i even tried to google most livable city in delaware, and i couldn’t find a site. The closest city to me which is livable according to some statistics is Washington D.C.

    posted by Steven on 8-4-2009 at 1:27 pm

  3. I live in Vancouver, which is consistently rated one of the most liveable cities worldwide. We do have a gang problem and a large homeless population, but on the whole, Vancouver is a very physically active city in an amazing natural environment. It’s a lot like Portland, a true pacific northwest beauty! We also have the advantage of (relatively) cheap higher education and universal health care.

    posted by Kris on 8-4-2009 at 1:30 pm

  4. Really? DC is “liveable”? I work here but don’t think I’d want to live here. I live out where it’s a whole lot quieter and more peaceful. Not as nice as Oregon in that regard, but my little slice of beauty along the Chesapeake.

    posted by Hyacinth on 8-4-2009 at 1:36 pm

  5. I think it really depends more on where and how you live within the city. I live in a suburb of Portland, Maine, and went to high school there. Lots of my friends live in the city, ranging from a shabby apartment behind the hospital to a huge house with a view of the bay. They all have different views on the people and activities in Portland just because of where they live.

    I think you can make any place “liveable,” especially a city. When you’re in a city, lots of the essentials are accessible. It all depends on how you use them. There are parts that are nice (Boston Common, New York’s Midtown, Long Beach) and then there are some where people tend to struggle more. I just work with it.

    reCaptcha: Maury International

    posted by Allison on 8-4-2009 at 1:51 pm

  6. I live in Oxford, MS home of Ole Miss and William Faulkner. Granted, I have a significant sentimental attachment to Oxford because I went to school at the college, but for those who wish to take part in the richness of life available the city is amazing compared to other cities nearby. Though I haven’t spent much time in Alabama or Arkansas, I can probably say the nearest city I would willingly reside in would be Nashville. Memphis is second most dangerous city in America. Jackson, MS has some cultural value, but nothing compared to the offerings in the very small city of Oxford.

    The university is the driving force behind Oxford’s unique lifestyle. It offers the raging passion of SEC athletics juxtaposed to the quaint sincerity of bohemian art prevalent in several local art houses, film festivals, and the like. The Square offers one of the most of successful private owned bookstores in America, Square Books. The site creates a constant flow of authors and poets who by and large look very fondly on our tiny city. Beyond the tiny city, you’ll find Mississippi’s beauty, which is too often overlooked. Simple forests and fields baked with MS heat remain elegant and serene as much of the country is torn down for progress.

    I’ll stop there I suppose.
    Cheers.

    posted by Gabriel on 8-4-2009 at 1:51 pm

  7. I think Cecil lives in Portland and loves it there, but wants to keep the tourists away…

    posted by Wayne on 8-4-2009 at 2:05 pm

  8. I love the Oregon rain. Keeps all the complainers away. And it washes the urine off the streets.

    posted by Tawnya on 8-4-2009 at 2:19 pm

  9. I live in south Louisiana. Surely no one would rank my city (Baton Rouge) as highly livable, just based on the heat, humidity, dependence on cars and recent hurricanes.

    However, right now we’ve got a strong economy and housing market, certainly big pluses these days. For me, though, the things that make Baton Rouge much more livable than, say, Dallas, is the small town-ness of it. I know my neighbors, my family lives nearby, I’m withing driving distance of great outdoor attractions (hiking, canoeing, fishing, boating), and it’s still affordable.

    I lived in Dallas and although the city was great, I didn’t make enough money to live there like I can live in Baton Rouge.

    posted by Lindsey on 8-4-2009 at 2:45 pm

  10. I’m surprised St. Louis ranks so low on the list. My guess is that they’re ranking the city alone, not the metropolitan area. I’m sure it’s that way with a lot of cities as well. Because the city of St. Louis is small and mostly consists of “Downtown” and a bunch of homeless or near-homeless people. The metro area, however, is lovely, at least compared to where I’m living now (San Antonio). There are tons of parks and free events and museums. And it has four (relatively mild) seasons. I miss it so much.

    posted by nutmeag on 8-4-2009 at 2:48 pm

  11. I live in NYC and the livibility is every neighborhood-to-neighborhood. I loved Astoria. It was clean, near a large park, the subways were consistent, the people nice and quiet, and the area was crime free.

    Now I’m in Elmhurst. Though it’s only 4 miles away, it’s a different world–overcrowded, no parks, lousy air, not a decent beer in any bodega or supermarket, and the subways are disgusting and unpredictable.

    posted by erak on 8-4-2009 at 2:57 pm

  12. Asheville, NC should be very high on all of these lists. Its art/food/music culture is second to none in the South; it’s a Mecca for all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts, and its climate is nicely temperate. Asheville beat out Portland for Beer City, USA this year. A largely educated populace, relatively low cost-of-living and accessible means of green living also contribute to the liveability of Asheville.

    That being said, tourists, please only come a few at a time.

    posted by Lorin on 8-4-2009 at 3:11 pm

  13. I just returned from a long weekend in Oregon, and spent some time in Portland, also. Making immediate plans to relocate. Love the city, love the architecture, love the restaurants, love the music, love the people. Love it!

    (Sorry, Cecil!)

    posted by Megan on 8-4-2009 at 3:16 pm

  14. I can’t imagine why St. Louis would be last even if they’re only counting the city and not the suburbs (I’d rather live in Soulard than Ladue any day). Super cheap cost of living and as much – if not more – culture than most cities it’s size (Forest Park, City Museum, etc.). More people are moving downtown thanks to pretty much every old building being converted into a loft. The homeless problem is nothing compared to Las Vegas or Los Angeles. I don’t live there currently but I wouldn’t hesitate to move back, which is more than I can say for Phoenix.

    posted by Lauren on 8-4-2009 at 3:21 pm

  15. nutmeag –

    St. Louis is all bitter cold winters and meltingly hot and humid summers, with a crazy year-round variability that means you could be in shorts at 8am and a parka in 8pm – this is “mild?”

    St. Louis will forever and always be my hometown and in my heart, but I find it impossible to look back through rose-colored glasses.

    posted by KL on 8-4-2009 at 3:25 pm

  16. The biggest negative I saw in Portland is the same as in San Francisco – the homeless are allowed to run wild, engaging in anti-social behavior without consequences.

    This ruins the city experience for tourists and the resident families trying to enjoy the natural beauty of the place.

    posted by JohnHo on 8-4-2009 at 3:33 pm

  17. Liveability is laughable. I’ve lived in the big cities, Atlanta and Boston. Enjoyed both but have found small town living is my way. Breckenridge at 3,000 was too big (possible due to it becoming 65,000 in season).
    Montezuma is where it is at, if you can get past the grumpy locals.

    posted by teo on 8-4-2009 at 3:42 pm

  18. I love SF just because it is such a “live and let live” place. But I don’t live there, so maybe that would wear on me after a while.

    posted by Hyacinth on 8-4-2009 at 4:21 pm

  19. I live in Wichita, KS and I think that we get a bum rap. I really enjoy living here. The activities and culture have really been growing in the last couple of years with gallery crawls, live music crawls, some great local businesses that support the community and the arts, plus the cost of living and the commute can’t be beat. There is also the added bonus of so much agriculture around the metro area, that it is easier than most places to be a locavore. I really recommend checking out gowichita.

    posted by Michelle on 8-4-2009 at 4:35 pm

  20. @JohnHo: What are we supposed to do, tag and corral them? We let people be people, and try to reach out to each other.
    On the other hand, if it keeps more people from moving to Portland, neat. We continue to see an increase of people moving in (especially from California), and it’s contributing to our current unemployment problem. Too many people want to live here, and there aren’t enough jobs at the moment.

    posted by TTS on 8-4-2009 at 5:11 pm

  21. Santa Barbara is my wonderland. Nature, outdoor activities of all kinds, an extremely involved and proud community, clean air, stars, an easy to comprehend bus system, festivals practically every weekend. Like the writer, I profound pine returning there. I’d live in a cardboard box. Maybe that’s why homeless people flock there (who, by the way, can be very interesting and don’t bother me a whit)

    I can’t call Los Angeles (where I live) liveable because the daily commute to a job I can’t afford to lose is hiking up my blood pressure on a regular basis. The lack of public transportation alone-ALONE- is enough for me to say LA is unliveable. The number of times I am almost killed on the 405, the amount of time I’m sitting on my butt in my car, oh god, its all too depressing. I love so many things about LA, the food especially, but the traffic… kills all of the joy.

    posted by ac on 8-4-2009 at 7:12 pm

  22. Columbus, Ohio: A great place to live, but I wouldn’t want to visit there.

    posted by Buckeye Kim on 8-4-2009 at 8:18 pm

  23. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Just do a quick Google or Wikipedia search and you’ll all see what I mean. I loveeeeeee it here, and when I want to “escape” the beauty and quiet that is the Niagara Escarpment, I drive down the highway 10 minutes to Niagara Falls.

    posted by Amanda on 8-4-2009 at 8:52 pm

  24. I know it’s strange, but I find Pittsburgh to be an amazing city to live in, and it does incredibly well in the liveability surveys. Small town feel with large city amenities, great green space, great arts, and world-class universities. Can’t beat it in my book.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World‘s_Most_Livable_Cities

    posted by sammoman on 8-4-2009 at 11:01 pm

  25. Wellington, New Zealand – what doesn’t make it livable? :)

    The air is clean, the harbour water is too (so much so that people frequently fish and/or swim in it). The views are stunning, the city is uncrowded, and the arts! Wellington is easily the arts capital of New Zealand.

    But lots of sports too! Oh, and more cafe’s and restaurants per capita than New York. I hear the coffee is incredible (I don’t drink coffee).

    And yet there is green every where you look – when the city was founded, the hills surrounding it were protected from development, and have remained so since the 1800s.

    We also have a major airport, where we can fly to several cities within New Zealand in just an hour or 2, and internationally as well to Australia and the pacific islands.

    posted by Logan on 8-4-2009 at 11:17 pm

  26. Portland’s marketing campaign slogan: “Portland; It’s not as filthy as you think!” The streets are a little safer than they used to be, especially during the daytime. There are really very few shootings during the day. Really just a handful, maybe only a couple a day.

    Now Florida, there is a place to visit! Heck, you could even start a new life down there, warm breezes, happy people, what more could you want?

    posted by Go Ducks on 8-5-2009 at 12:24 am

  27. I agree with sammoman. I love living in Pittsburgh. Great job market, good culture, and a small town feel. We have two championship sports teams right now, along with.. well, another historically good team. I love Pittsburgh, and to be, it’s truly the most livable city.

    posted by Mohammed on 8-5-2009 at 1:45 am

  28. I’ve lived in Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, NYC, Atlanta, Boston, DC and St. Louis. I’ve found all cities quite livable and wonderful. It’s really about making the most of where you are! Find the good and the good will find you.

    posted by Brenda on 8-5-2009 at 3:01 am

  29. @Logan – I’d second that and say that any city in NZ is very liveable…

    and I’d go one further and say that New Plymouth (New Zealand) was rated the most liveable city in the WORLD (with a pop. <75,000, which most NZ cities are anyway…) see my name for the link.

    Go New Zealand!

    posted by dangermouse on 8-5-2009 at 3:53 am

  30. It’s so arbitrary, because every individual has their own personal likes and dislikes in an area.

    This is why a city that ranks high may be loathed by you, and vice versa. It’s all about figuring out what’s important to you personally, and finding the place that best suits your needs.

    posted by joemoedee on 8-5-2009 at 12:32 pm

  31. i’ll be the third person to take up pittsburgh’s banner. we have an economy that’s holding up to the economic downturn quite well, a city made up of many unique neighborhoods and very friendly people. plus you can’t beat our skyline with a stick.

    posted by emilycleone on 8-5-2009 at 1:19 pm

  32. Ben Gibbard is not from Portland! He is from Bellingham, WA and he recently moved to LA…the big sellout! :)

    posted by Elizabeth on 11-27-2009 at 11:34 pm

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