Livable Communities for Adults with Disabilities

December 2, 2004

SCOPE AND PURPOSE:

“Livable community” is a fluid term whose definition may change depending on the context and such considerations as community capacity, organizational goals, and the needs and desires of particular groups of citizens. For the purposes of this report, a Framework of a Livable Community for Adults with Disabilities was constructed to define the elements that need to be in place for a community to be considered livable for people with disabilities. It is clear, however, that the elements that make a community livable for people with disabilities make it a livable place for all members of the community. Thus, in improving its livability for one particular group of constituents, the community actually accomplishes considerably more.