A Conceptual Framework for the Assessment of and the Transition to Liveable, Sustainable and Equitable Cities

The connotation of liveability varies with context. Assessing the liveability of cities is complicated by the plethora of mutually-interacting dimensions – physical, economic, social, environmental and institutional. The authors, in this paper, have attempted to address this complexity and advance the understanding of the concept of liveability to planners, and its applicability to more inclusive policymaking. By availing of the body of knowledge in extant literature, the paper fosters a systematic understanding of the concepts of liveability and its key constructs, suggests various methods to measure liveability, and highlights the need for trade-offs between liveability and sustainability outcomes in urban planning. It also contributes to the identification of the inherent social construction reflecting the values, perceptions and experiences of its inhabitants in defining and measuring liveability. The authors suggest the use of cognitive, participatory and micro-scale indicators to assess liveability, while arguing in favour of a ‘pro-equity’ perspective in the local context; and opine that the assessment framework suggested can unearth opportunities to formulate place-based innovative policies to create liveable, sustainable and equitable cities. Bolstered by their findings from the review, the authors have introduced a novel participatory assessment approach, abbreviated as SaRVO, which they recommend to town planners and policymakers as well as researchers in the future.