"Creating communities that care:" reflections from community leaders on Livability Academy, a neighborhood quality-of-life training program in Philadelphia

Cities Health. 2023;7(6):964-972. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2023.2228962. Epub 2023 Jul 10.

Abstract

"What does livability mean to us? Creating communities that care." This reflective praxis think-piece was a collective effort by graduates of the Livability Academy program, a community leadership program hosted in eastern North Philadelphia. Program participants worked in teams to implement programs to improve neighborhood quality of life, as those involved in implementing Livability Academy collaborated to strengthen the bottom-up, asset-based, network-driven model. Our reflections on successes and areas for improvement can strengthen future cohorts of Livability Academy and keep us connected to continue making our neighborhoods more livable.

Keywords: community development; livability; local capacity building; program implementation; quality of life.