"Creating communities that care:" reflections from community leaders on Livability Academy, a neighborhood quality-of-life training program in Philadelphia

"What does livability mean to us? Creating communities that care." This reflective praxis think-piece was a collective effort by graduates of the Livability Academy program, a community leadership program hosted in eastern North Philadelphia. Program participants worked in teams to implement programs to improve neighborhood quality of life, as those involved in implementing Livability Academy collaborated to strengthen the bottom-up, asset-based, network-driven model. Our reflections on successes and areas for improvement can strengthen future cohorts of Livability Academy and keep us connected to continue making our neighborhoods more livable.

Air Pollution (PM2.5) Negatively Affects Urban Livability in South Korea and China

This study investigated the effect of the concentration of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a transboundary air pollutant, on the livability of neighboring areas of China and South Korea with the aim of informing common policy development. Grey relational analysis (GRA) and panel regression analysis were performed to examine the effect of PM2.5 concentration on various livability indicators. The results revealed that urban living infrastructure was an indicator of effect in both South Korea and China. Based on the high correlation between urban living infrastructure and PM2.5 concentration, it can be seen that PM2.5 clearly affects livability, shown by panel regression analysis. Other key livability indicators were traffic safety, culture and leisure, and climate indicators. Spatial analysis of the livability index revealed that from 2015 to 2019, livability improved in both South Korea and China, but there was a clear difference in the spatial distribution in China. High-vulnerability areas showed potential risks that can reduce livability in the long run. In South Korea and China, areas surrounding large cities were found to be highly vulnerable. The findings of this research can guide the establishment of policies grading PM2.5 pollution at the regional or city macro-level.

[Micro-scale habitability evaluation of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city based on multi-source data]

Quantitative assessment of livability within a city facilitates the identification of urban problems and targeted improvements to the environment. Available studies are mostly limited to static analysis of a particular phase. It is difficult to reveal the dynamic development state of cities at the micro level. Taking Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city as an example, we established an evaluation index system for the livability of the eco-city from five dimensions, including environmental health, transportation convenience, urban security, facility convenience, and economic prosperity. Multi-source data from 2016 to 2020, including the remote sensing images, points of interest, and planning data, combined with the entropy method and the TOPSIS method were used to dynamically monitor the livability of the eco-city in a long-term series. The results showed that during the study period, the livability levels of different areas in the eco-city had strong spatial and temporal variations. Spatially, with the southern part of the Sino-Singapore Eco-city Cooperation Zone as the core, the overall livability was characterized by a high center and a low edge. The convenience of facilities, traffic convenience, and economic prosperity were characterized by a high center and a low edge. Urban security and environmental health showed the characteristics of low center and high edge. From 2016 to 2020, the livability improvement rate of the eco-city had gradually accelerated, with the the most obvious improvement in the southern part of the China-Singapore Cooperation Zone.

Corrigendum: Assessing Inequalities in Wellbeing at a Neighbourhood Scale in Low-Middle-Income-Country Secondary Cities and Their Implications for Long-Term Livability

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.729453.].

The Use of Attractants to Stimulate Neonatal Piglet Interest in Rope Enrichment

Simple Summary

Piglet crushing is one of the leading causes of preweaning mortality. This loss represents reduced production efficiency, substantial economic losses for producers, and is an animal welfare concern. The goal of this study was to determine if enrichment ropes would entice neonatal piglets away from the sow and reduce preweaning mortality. Three treatments (OIL: sunflower oil; MC: milky cheese; SC: semiochemical) were applied to the enrichment ropes to increase attractiveness to piglets. Results indicate that neonatal piglets were interested in all enrichment treatments on Day 2 of life, although there was high individual variation in frequency and duration of interactions. Enrichment treatment did not impact the frequency or duration of rope interactions or litter average weight gain. Piglet mortality was impacted by treatment: MC piglets had the lowest percent mortality during the enrichment period, and SC piglets had the lowest percent mortality over the entire experimental period. This proof-of-concept study highlights the value of neonatal piglet environmental enrichment.

Abstract

In the United States swine industry, preweaning mortality represents the highest mortality rate of any production phase, nearly half attributed to crushing. The overarching aim of this study was to determine if enrichment ropes would entice neonatal piglets away from the sow and reduce preweaning mortality. Rope enrichments were provided to 161 piglets from 26 sows after farrowing. Ropes were dipped in sunflower oil (n = 7), semiochemical (n = 8), or milky cheese (n = 11). Piglet purposeful rope investigations, weight gain, and mortality were recorded. On Day 2, 75% of piglets touched the enrichment at least once, and frequency ranged from 1 to 21 investigations across all treatments. Frequency (p = 0.20) and duration (p = 0.21) of investigations were not affected by treatment. Preweaning litter average weight gain did not differ between treatments (p = 0.71). MC (milky cheese) piglets had the lowest percent mortality when the enrichment ropes were present (Days 2 to 5, p = 0.01), and SC (semiochemical) piglets had the lowest percent mortality after the enrichment ropes were removed (Days 6 to weaning, p < 0.0001). This proof-of-concept study highlights the potential value of neonatal piglet environmental enrichment.

What Makes a City a Good Place to Live and Grow Old?

As increasing numbers of adults are living longer and remaining in their communities as they age, city planners and leaders are exploring how cities need to adapt to ensure their community is age-friendly and a good place for residents to age-in-place. Using secondary data collected from mid-Atlantic city residents aged 45+ years, quantitative analyses were conducted to determine what makes a community a good place to live and grow old. Path model analyses revealed significant relationships among self-reported quality of life and the beliefs that the City and the neighborhood were good places to live and grow old. Features of the built environment and perceived help from neighbors were significantly correlated to separate factors in the models, but not significant contributors to the models. Findings support conceptualizing age-friendly community models and community initiatives using a neighborhood-level lens and engaging older residents to capture the context of their lives and lived experiences.

Assessing Inequalities in Wellbeing at a Neighbourhood Scale in Low-Middle-Income-Country Secondary Cities and Their Implications for Long-Term Livability

To ensure future sustainability, cities need to consider concepts of livability and resident wellbeing alongside environmental, economic and infrastructure development equity. The current rapid urbanization experienced in many regions is leading to sustainability challenges, but also offers the opportunity to deliver infrastructure supporting the social aspects of cities and the services that underpin them alongside economic growth. Unfortunately, evidence of what is needed to deliver urban wellbeing is largely absent from the global south. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap through a novel interdisciplinary mixed methods study undertaken in two rapidly changing cities (one Thai and one Kenyan) using qualitative surveys, subjective wellbeing and stress measurements, and spatial analysis of urban infrastructure distribution. We find the absence of basic infrastructure (including waste removal, water availability and quality) unsurprisingly causes significant stress for city residents. However, once these services are in place, smaller variations (inequalities) in social (crime, tenure) and environmental (noise, air quality) conditions begin to play a greater role in determining differences in subjective wellbeing across a city. Our results indicate that spending time in urban greenspaces can mitigate the stressful impacts of city living even for residents of informal neighborhoods. Our data also highlights the importance of places that enable social interactions supporting wellbeing-whether green or built. These results demonstrate the need for diversity and equity in the provision of public realm spaces to ensure social and spatial justice. These findings strengthen the need to promote long term livability in LMIC urban planning alongside economic growth, environmental sustainability, and resilience.

Realtors' Perceptions of Social and Physical Neighborhood Characteristics Associated with Active Living: A Canadian Perspective

Realtors match home-seekers with neighborhoods that have built and social characteristics they desire to pursue active lifestyles. Studies have yet to explore realtors’ perspectives on neighborhood design that supports active living. Using qualitative description, our study was to explore the perceptions and understandings of neighborhood design (walkability, healthy, bike-ability, vibrancy, and livability) among urban residential realtors. Nineteen (6 men; 13 women; average age 48 years) self-identified residential realtors from Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge (Canada) completed semi-structured telephone interviews. Content analysis identified themes from the interview data. Specifically, walkability was described as: perceived preferences, destinations and amenities, and connections; a healthy community was described as: encourages outdoor activities, and promotes social homogeneity; bike-ability was described as: bike-ability attributes, and was controversial; vibrancy was described as: community feel, and evidence of life; and livability was described as: subjective, and preferences and necessities. Our findings can inform the refinement of universal definitions and concepts used to in neighborhood urban design.

Can Age-Friendly Planning Promote Equity in Community Health Across the Rural-Urban Divide in the US?

In the US, rural communities face challenges to meet the community health needs of older adults and children. Meanwhile, rural areas lag in age-friendly built environment and services. AARP, a US based organization promoting livability for all ages, has developed a Livability Index based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) domains of age-friendly communities: health, housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, engagement, and opportunity. This study links the 2018 AARP Livability Index categories with demographic structure and socio-economic factors from the American Community Survey at the county level in the US to examine if the physical, built and social environment differentiate communities with better community health across the rural-urban divide. Results show that the neighborhood built environment has the largest impact on community health for all county types. Although rural areas lag in community health, those which give more attention to engagement and opportunity rank higher. Rural communities with more African Americans, children, and poor Whites, rank lower on community health. While neighborhood characteristics have the strongest link to community health, a broader approach with attention to age, race, poverty and engagement and opportunity is needed for rural areas.

engAGE in Community: Using Mixed Methods to Mobilize Older People to Elucidate the Age-Friendly Attributes of Urban and Rural Places

The growing numbers of older adults in the United States will have a significant impact on community resources, which will affect the ability of residents to live and thrive in their local community regardless of age. For this study, we applied explanatory sequential mixed methods and community-based participatory research (CBPR) to discover how attributes of the physical, social, and service environments determine residents' perceptions of community age-friendliness and conditions for aging-in-place. A population survey measuring county residents' (n = 387) perceptions and importance of community resources that support community livability are explained by thematic results of the CBPR, that is, emergent proximal and distal age-friendly factors. Our qualitative approach engaged local people (n = 237) in participatory processes to study and share perceptions of environmental attributes in six communities in one Oregon county. Findings are integrated to explain similarities and differences in older residents' lived experience of rural and urban settings with regard to age-friendly foci.