The Contribution of Transportation and Land Use to Citizen Perceptions of Livability in Oregon MPOs

What is livability? How does the built environment influence resident perceptions of livability? Although livability is a broadly used term and a key goal in land use and transportation plans at the state level, it is unclear whether residents think their neighborhoods are livable and what contributes to their perception of livability. The purpose of this project was to understand how Oregonians, in neighborhoods of varying densities and within Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), perceive livability at the nexus of transportation and land use. We sought to understand how residents define and perceive livability in three different MPOs in the state: Albany, Central Lane, and Rogue Valley. We administered an innovative survey to 3,100 registered voters across the three MPOs. We relied on stratified sampling to obtain a representative sample across different density categories. Our survey instrument included questions about livability, satisfaction, housing choice, and preferred and current characteristics of the neighborhood and accessibility. Based on previous research we examined how individual socioeconomic status, objective neighborhood features, and subjective perceptions of land use and transportation impact perceptions of livability