Defining Livability: How Livable Communities Contribute to and Benefit from Social Cohesion

Broadly speaking, a community is a social system consisting of multiple, interdependent, and interacting social units (Hillery, 1955; Sanders, 1966). Although urban planners have touted the benefits of “livable” communities from an economic standpoint, they have neglected the psychological benefits that communities afford to those who reside in a livable community. Generally speaking, “livability” refers to an urban system that contributes to personal development and the physical, social, and mental well-being of its inhabitants. For example, livable communities enhance residents’ sense of community awareness and social bonding. The resulting social cohesion among community members contributes to fostering a community identity, which in turn further bolsters the social cohesion that sustains communities and keeps them livable. This self-perpetuating circle is herein defined as the “social cohesion of livable communities.”