AARP recently launched a new online tool for checking the livability score of any location in the U.S. — and finding and creating communities that benefit people of all ages.
The Livability Index is a signature initiative of thePublic Policy Institute to measure the quality of life in American communities across multiple dimensions: housing, transportation, neighborhood characteristics, environment, health, opportunity, and civic and social engagement.
What Does the Livability Index Do?
The Livability Index helps users better understand their communities and make decisions about future needs. The index can be used in several ways.
Here are just a few examples:
HOUSING
A county executive wants to know how to meet the housing needs of older adults. She can see how her community performs for each of the housing metrics relative to the national average and learn about policy and programmatic interventions that could address areas of concern.
TRANSPORTATION
The director of a nonprofit organization wants to show the need for transportation services in the community. He can view data on transit service available to various neighborhoods in the community and connect to resources explaining how transit is typically funded.
HEALTH
A health official is interested in exploring how the built environment may influence health. She can see the relative rates of obesity and smoking on a map and then check whether each neighborhood in a county has access to grocery stores and farmers’ markets.
