This summer, 10 PBS partner stations are exploring what "livability" looks like across America in the series Livable Future: Local Solutions. These special reports, part of the Blueprint America series, go beyond TV segments: Partner stations in places like Peoria, Ill.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City, Mo.; Eureka, Calif.; and Denver, Colo., are hosting events and town hall meetings and sparking social media conversations to define what livable means in rural, suburban and urban communities. It's a timely topic, as the federal government begins to incorporate Livability Principles into funding and planning decisions.
For a media junkie like me, this series seems like a great opportunity for more of us to have our say about what "livable communities" mean to us. It's is a squishy term, after all, one most people probably won't have a ready definition for if you ask them what it means. But if we take a minute to really think about it, I believe most of us would have a lot to say.
Try this: Ask yourself, "What qualities drew me to my community?" Maybe you could afford the rent and liked that you could walk your dog at a nearby park. Maybe you moved there to be closer to work or to make sure your kids go to a quality school.
Now ask yourself, "What qualities would make it even easier/better/healthier for me as I build my life in this community?" Do you want more places to shop or more clearly marked bike lanes? Would you like a corner market near your train stop so you could pick up fresh vegetables for dinner on the way home? Are the sidewalks accessible or falling apart? Do your kids have to take a 30-minute bus ride to school, or is your commute becoming unbearable? It's a million big and little things that add up to the big picture that is your life.
So, metro Chicago, we didn't get a PBS series, but that doesn't mean we can't answer the question: What does livable mean to you?
