Great neighborhoods: The livability and morphology of high density neighborhoods in urban North America

Alongside sustainability, the concept of livability is one of the driving visions in early 21st Century city planning. The term is widely used in practice but lacks convergence on a single definition due to its relativistic nature and its use as an ensemble concept that aggregates a variety of ideas about place-based quality of life. This dissertation explores the concept of livability through a grounded theory approach to its definitional attributes, and then uses these findings to assess the livability concerns and morphology of twelve case study neighborhoods in the United States and Canada. From a review of historical, academic, theoretical and practical literature on the term, a set of livability dimensions has been determined that can be used in assessing livability and focusing attention on local challenges in dense urban neighborhoods. These include: sufficient density to support services, walkability, balanced transportation modes, mixed land uses, balanced and affordable housing, well-programmed leisure space amenities, a sense of place and knowledge about local challenges. This research adopts a place-based approach and has found that issues of everyday life and the functioning of place for daily needs are at the heart of livability practice.; Twelve dense neighborhoods have been grouped historically into traditional neighborhoods prior to the introduction of land use planning and planning-era neighborhoods of the 20th Century. Each group has six neighborhoods that show a regional and form sampling of neighborhood types. A number of research findings come forth to suggest key differences in livability, daily life and urban form. The case study research has found that neighborhoods are nuanced in how they provide for local quality of life, with each offering a different set of amenities and means for achieving local livability. Some of the neighborhoods were able to meet a greater number of livability dimensions. Others that offered less choice in housing, transportation mode, retail and amenity choice were less successful. The study suggests that high urban housing and population densities can be reached through a variety of urban form models and that the eight selected livability dimensions are an appropriate means of assessing local neighborhood livability.