What makes a city liveable? implications for next-generation infrastructure services

Infrastructure forms the framework within which modern societies operate both at the physical and social level. It includes (amongst others) digital, green and social infrastructures, emergency services and food networks, water, energy, waste and transport. Infrastructure, by its very nature, locks in behaviours. The Liveable Cities research consortium aims to identify and test radical engineering interventions that will lead to future low carbon, resource secure cities in which societal wellbeing is prioritised, and these will necessarily influence the shape of infrastructure provision. This paper presents a discussion of what comprises a liveable city and how it might be achieved. It presents the City Design Framework, a technique for the analysis of city strategies that establishes a hierarchy of needs relevant to successfully achieving a liveable city. The framework supports changing perceptions of infrastructure since the necessary future changes have the potential to radically alter people’s lifestyle and wellbeing.