About the America's Most Livable Communities Award

1. Has Partners given the America’s Most Livable Award before? How do this year’s criteria differ from previous years? Partners makes this selection once every decade based on criteria that we think are part of that shifting definition of livability depending upon cities needs, our national economy, and other priorities.

Late 70’s—focused on communities working on physical design, respect for heritage, and conservation of natural resources

1986—focused on the communities transforming from a manufacturing to a service sector economy

1994—focused on communities with strong leadership, teamwork capabilities, and regional cooperation

2000—focused on places that we thought were the "little engines that could" at a special announcement for Partners 25th anniversary ceremony.

2004—focus on communities who have a creativity agenda and are using it to prepare for the new economy.

2. When is the next time you will announce this award? Partners will not make another selection of "America’s Most Livable" places until sometime after 2009.

3. What are the four categories of "Livable Places"? Partners has looked at four separate and distinct types of places. Partners has selected these categories because we believe you cannot compare apples and oranges. Livability is relative and means something different for every community.

4. How is this different from other similar awards programs? Partners "America’s Most Livable" award differs from other popular awards in that it is more exclusive and is only offered once every decade. Our criteria is also completely subjective where we evaluate each community individually rather than rating them or comparing them to one another. For example, unlike the All American City award, where communities nominate themselves and compete for the title, Partners "Most Livable" award is bestowed on those places we have determined most deserve the award.

5. How do you rank the cities? Is it totally subjective? "America’s Most Livable" places are not ranked, nor are they evaluated on statistical information. The America’s Most Livable designation is subjective because Partners believe that livability can mean different things in different places. A small town in the mid-west faces very different opportunities and challenges than a large city on the Pacific coast.

6. What happens when communities are honored more than once? Do they retain their designation? Communities that continue to excel and whose leadership creatively adapts to changes in the world and new economy may be honored again. Partners criteria over the years has always reflected the current state of the world and communities are evaluated on how they embrace innovation and change at the present time while also planning for the future.

Several of the communities on this year’s roster have been honored in the past. Is that significant? Yes, given the fact that we change the lead criteria for livability every decade. It shows that we believe that such communities have not rested on their laurels but have addressed other problems relating to their human development agenda, economic opportunity, regional collaboration, leadership, or their quality of life issues. Thus, repeat winners are to be congratulated on the strength of more than one agenda and on being able to address multiple issues that define livability over time.

7. Can the city lose its designation? Cities never lose their "America’s Most Livable" designation. We think that the entire portfolio of all of the cities that we have honored since 1975 represent, in aggregate, the best portfolio of good places to live, work, and invest in America. Some of our cities are dealing with new issues that they have not solved. Some are dealing with old issues in an innovative way that resist solution, but they are putting new resources to the test. We have a large portfolio this year because we realize that livable places come in different sizes and different shapes and thus we have four categories to define communities.

8. What are amenities? How are they related? Amenities are attractive features of a place – the physical, historical, cultural and social – that contribute to a community’s overall quality of life. Quality of life, of course, includes a wide range of elements such as health, safety, education, housing and transportation, which together determine whether a particular community is a desirable place to live and work.

One of the most attractive features of amenities is that every community and city has some form of an amenity infrastructure already in place. Livable Communities stand out because they identify their amenities, enrich them, develop a strategy to maximize them, and implement a plan to put them to work.