Add a list of the "Top 100 Best Places to Live" to the seemingly endless series of rankings seeking to quantify what's best and worst about our cities and states. Though the inputs have changed over the last 80 years, our desire to rank hasn't.
With the help of Matt Carmichael, editor of the website Livability.com (the producer of the Best Places to Live list), Emily Badger goes back to a three-part series on "THE WORST AMERICAN STATE" by H.L. Mencken that ran in The American Mercury in 1931 to trace our fascination with ranking places.
"Over time, 'quality of life' – or, more often today, 'livability' – has come to mean many things, some of them contradictory, others just outdated," she observes. "One theme that remains constant dating back to Mencken's time is that even as the criteria have changed, our search to quantify the unquantifiable has not."
"Listicles and rankings since 1931 have benefited from ever-more data, and now an ever-more insatiable appetite to rank everything," she continues. "Rankings themselves have proliferated – creating an endless list of lists to which Carmichael is conscious that he's adding yet one more entry."
Oh, and in case you're interested (of course you are), Palo Alto came in first in Carmichael's Top 100 Best Places to Live rankings.
FULL STORY: The Neverending Evolution of 'Quality of Life' Rankings
Singapore: A Model for Longevity and Quality of Life
Singapore's remarkable rise in life expectancy, driven by government policies on health, green spaces, and social cohesion, has earned it the distinction of being named the world's sixth “Blue Zone.”
Insights From the Latest Livability Index
The latest edition of the AARP Livability Index reveals the U.S. regions with more of the kinds of neighborhoods that offer quality of life benefits for residents of all ages.
The Problem With All Those 'Livability' Rankings
Why is it that smallish cities in western Europe always score so well? Perhaps the underlying assumptions behind ostensibly data-driven "livability" rankings cater to a certain audience and leave most of us out.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
How Atlanta Built 7,000 Housing Units in 3 Years
The city’s comprehensive, neighborhood-focused housing strategy focuses on identifying properties and land that can be repurposed for housing and encouraging development in underserved neighborhoods.
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service