The Imagining Livability Design Collection

The US AARP, which advocates and provides services for the 50 and over population, along with the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute which was co-founded by Dan Burden asked the questions:

“What can livability look like in a rural context?”

“How about a suburban one?”

“And what can be done to make existing urban conditions more walkable and bikeable?”

They have put together a new toolkit called “The Imagining Livability Design Collection”. The toolkit is a visual reference guide of various projects that can enhance the livability of a community. Projects in the toolkit are divided into short-term, mid-range, and long-range categories.

While this toolkit was created for US communities, its proposed projects are also relevant in Canadian cities. The way some of the projects in the guide are visualized show how older parts of a community can be retrofitted for livability. These types of retrofits could be adapted for older areas of Langley and Surrey for example. The toolkit ends with examples of possible transformations.

As this is a visual toolkit, I thought I would share a few examples from it. The first example is from the mid-range section of the guide. The second example is from one of the possible transformations.

A shared-use path in Detroit, Michigan. Select image to enlarge.

Connecting a neighbourhood and its surroundings in Fort Worth, Texas. The present and the possible. Select image to enlarge.