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SELDSW Liveability Evidence Resource Guide
The liveability agenda in the UK has been strongly driven by an interest in addressing people’s immediate concerns about their local environment. These concerns have typically been identified through opinion surveys that ask people to identify what they think would make their local area a better place to live.
Although still something of an ‘umbrella’ term that refers to a number of interrelated concerns, its focus is firmly upon the local environment: “the things that people see when they walk out the front door”, “essentially about quality local environments”.
In the 2004, the definition of Liveability in the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister’s (ODPM) PSA8 floor target was: ‘Lead the delivery of cleaner, safer and greener public spaces and improvement of the quality of the built environment in deprived areas and across the country, with measurable improvement by 2008.’
As ‘Liveability’ is based largely on public perceptions and is consequently open to broader interpretation than many other targets it presents an additional challenge when attempting to select appropriate indicators.
SELDSW can provide you with a set of suggested core liveability indicators to supplement your own locally generated indicators. Contact SELD for details.
You may also find it helpful to contact your Local Intelligence Network (LIN) for further support in identifying Liveability indicators and datasets.
Liveability, perhaps more so than with other NR themes relies on local sources of data and information such as locally recorded quantitative data and qualitative research, evaluations and surveys gathered by local agencies. Your ability to select and establish appropriate indicators will therefore depend heavily on effective data-sharing relationships as much as the quality and type of data collected by agencies in your area.
Listed below are some suggested sources for indicators and data along with related research undertaken by various central government agencies which you may also find useful:
‘Ready-made’ Liveability performance indicators
The Improvement & Development Agency (I&DeA) and the Audit Commission provide the most widely used selection of performance indicators for Liveability in their jointly developed Library of Local Performance Indicators. ‘Ready-made' liveability performance indicators are provided across the various themes of: Street Scene; Quality of Life; Environmental Services; and Community Safety.
Data4NR
The Data for Neighbourhood Renewal (Data4NR) resource was launched in early 2006 and provides a basic catalogue of datasets which relate to Neighbourhood Renewal Floortargets. It includes over 30 data sources relating to liveability.
Fewer datasets are available at a sub-district geography or are regularly updated and very few are available regularly updated and at sub-district level. More detailed information and links to the data sources can be found on the ‘Data for Neighbourhood Renewal’ web site
Floor Targets Interactive Liveability indicators
Floor Targets Interactive (FTI) is a web-based system for monitoring progress towards Public Service Agreement Floor Targets. FTI enables users to examine performance at the national, regional and district levels. The data underpinning the system has been brought together from across Government to provide a single resource for users. FTI allows users to interrogate the data to produce a range of analyses and illustrative maps.
Where it is available, data going back to 1997 has been included on FTI. The system covers all English local authorities down to district level. The focus is on the 88 local authorities that receive Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. FTI currently contains seven main Liveability indicators:
- % unacceptable levels of litter and detritus
- Abandoned Vehicles
- Green Flag Awards
- CPA Environment Block Services
- % poor environment
- % satisfied with parks
- % household satisfied with local environment
Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships
The Home Office’s Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) are a useful source of local crime and disorder data. Crime Reduction Teams are co-located with the Government Offices for the Regions. Each team is responsible for encouraging and supporting the take-up of initiatives as well as monitoring and the implementation of local projects established under the Crime Reduction Programme. Follow this link to locate your local CDRP.English Heritage and Liveability
English Heritage’s Historic Environment Local Management (HELM) site provides a good deal of information around liveability specifically in relation to: Communities; Retail Development; Parks & Gardens; Access & Inclusion; Streets for All; Housing; and School Buildings. See the liveability information here.
Since 2002, English Heritage has produced an annual State of the Historic Environment Report called ‘Heritage Counts’ which includes a considerable number of indicators relating to liveability. Summaries are available nationally and broken down by region for years 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005.
‘Heritage Counts 2003’ includes some comprehensive work specifically around Liveability evidence
HELM includes a position statement setting out broad principles of English Heritage’s vision for the historic environment as an integral part of Community and Local Neighbourhood Renewal Strategies. It outlines how the historic environment contributes to regeneration in both social and economic terms. It is intended to be of assistance to LSPs as their strategies are developed and updated.
UK Sustainable Development Strategy
‘Securing the future’ the UK Sustainable Development Strategy published by the Government’s Sustainable Development Unit in 2005, contains useful background information and indicators some of which closely relate to Liveability.
‘Chapter 7: Ensuring it happens’ contains the various indicators used for performance managing the UK Strategy for sustainable Development.
Liveability vs Sustainable Development
At international level, liveability has tended to be treated in a very broad sense, and with only limited distinction between it and sustainable development. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) commissioned research in 2004 which explores some of the potential conflicts and synergies between the liveability and sustainable development agendas. This includes some discussion around the use of indicators. See the research here.
Indicators of the Quality of Life (Bristol)
In recent years Bristol has been at the forefront in promoting the principles of sustainable development and the protection of its environment.
The Sustainability Update is based on the Local Agenda 21 Strategy for Bristol that provides a frame work and set of principles by which the city can move into a more sustainable future.
The city has been running a citywide household survey for the past 5 years, results of which are published in the annual ‘Indicators of the Quality of Life’ report. This Quality of Life survey helps assess residents’ perceptions of whether the city is becoming a better or worse place to live, by using 'traffic light' sustainability/quality of life indicators.
Reports have been published since 1996. The most recent reports are available to download as pdfs, there are also limited supplies in paper format or on cd which you can request by emailing: env_qual@bristol-city.gov.uk.
To support the LSP and its NR activities, Bristol has also been developing an aggregate indicator of Liveability, creating a score by combining and weighting indicators from the annual Quality of Life survey. These scores have then been mapped at Lower Level Super Output Area (LSOA) level to provide an excellent tool for tracking and clearly communicating Liveability outcomes to partners. Details of this work are featured in a case-study on the SELD SW website.
Liveability Profile (Derby)
The following document provides a good example of a liveability profile for the city of Derby. Whilst it only reports at district level and does not comment on sub-district differences or ‘gaps’, the report does brings together a wide range of nationally published Liveability indicators and compares the city with a number of other comparable areas in England. Despite relying on somewhat dated information from the 2001 Census, the selection of indicators has been based on a comprehensive literature review of existing liveability research and is a useful document for inspiration. See the report here.
Promoting liveability: the experience of NDC partnerships
The following document is extracted from research carried out as part of the national evaluation of New Deal for Communities (NDC) in 2004, with particular reference to the NDCs in Bristol, Coventry, Haringey, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Nottingham.
- Over the last few years, the liveability agenda in the UK has developed as an approach to neighbourhood renewal that connects social and environmental problems.
- Although NDCs rarely use the term, they often have projects that aim to improve an area's liveability. Neighbourhood warden schemes are a common example, often simultaneously addressing issues related to the community, crime and the environment.
- Small scale environmental initiatives are also a useful way of getting quick wins while building community capacity and involving residents in a partnership's work.
ODPM Liveability Fund
The ODPM took the lead role in delivering the £89m Liveability Fund. A pilot which ran until March 2006 aimed at supporting local authority projects to improve parks and public spaces. Further details are available here.
This is an example of a local project funded through the Liveability Fund. This pilot is one example of the 27 in the country which received Liveability Fund support.
Amethyst Crime & Disorder Information Hub (Cornwall)
An example of good practice in providing a central sub-regional crime & disorder information hub, Amethyst was developed in the south west region to share partnership information across Cornwall and Devon. Amethyst was introduced in response to the growing demand to share local data to support Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) in reducing crime and the fear of crime.
Through its developing success, Amethyst has expanded to cover the neighbouring county of Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay. Both counties have a strong partnership foundation and recognise that crime reduction is not solely the responsibility of the Police, but is the joint responsibility of Police, local authorities and other partner organisations. In the past, data had been held by separate organisations on different systems and in various formats. Amethyst has improved access to relevant data and has become a 'One Stop Shop' to relevant key partnership information which is delivered in a constant and easy to use format.
Visit the Amethyst website.Liveability and ethnicity
Although not subject to detailed research, there is a suggestion that BME residents are more likely to suffer poor environmental conditions over and above the observed relationship with deprivation. This may be in relation to environmental hazard sites, air pollution, flooding and road traffic injuries.
This document describes the facts, key issues and challenges related to improving liveability outcomes for BME groups and provides links to case studies, resources and useful websites. Also describes current Government policies and programmes.
A further document includes suggested actions that local partnerships can take to ensure issues that affect BME communities and liveability are being addressed.
Contact SELD for further assistance.
