Community perspectives on livability metrics: insights using designing for dissemination and sustainability

Livability is a people-oriented concept, and accurately measuring it requires a contextual understanding of what local community partners consider essential for making communities livable. Despite abundant research on livability indicators, most studies have adopted a top-down approach, with few considering the communities’ input. This pilot-study aims to gather community partners’ perceptions of livability and to inform the development of an online resource hub based on community needs, using the City of St. Louis as a case study. The designing for dissemination and sustainability process and Fit to Context framework was utilized for enhanced community engagement to inform the development of an online resource hub, the St. Louis Livability Observatory. Data were obtained via two focus group sessions and analyzed using inductive thematic content analysis performed by two researchers. Thematic analysis indicated five interconnected themes that underscore the complexity of livability and its implications for community development: (1) the conceptualization of livability, (2) refining community livability metrics, (3) amplifying community voices, (4) addressing community needs, and (5) ensuring long-term sustainability and impact. This study’s findings highlight the multifaceted nature of livability and the importance of inclusive, community-driven approaches to developing effective livability metrics.