Uploaded on 2014-12-05 by MariaJoseGarcia_1978

I did this exercise based in cities where I lived or I stayed more than few days. As you said, based in my own experience. **Step 1: List the five most liveable cities that you know, based on your own experience and judgment, placing the most liveable city at the top of the list.** 1. Bern 2. Amsterdam 3. Paris 4. New York City 5. Barcelona **The criteria for this classification is based on the 10 categories to living conditions analyzed by Mercer.** 1. Political and Social environment 2. Economic environment 3. Socio - cultural environment 4. Medical and health considerations 5. School and Education 6. Public services and transportation 7. Recreation 8. Consumer goods 9. Housing 10. Natural environment **Here the classification process (1 to 5, being 5 the higher of the topic)** ![ingrese la descripción de la imagen aquí][1] **Step 2: Describe in your own words five characteristics that according to your opinion make a city liveable. Order them placing the most important at the top of the list** 1. Stability (professional/economic/social environment) 2. Excellent public spaces / A wakable city 3. Excellent public transportation and public services. 4. Safe (low crime rates) 5. Excellent Cultural / recreational / Natural environment. **Step 3: Describe the status of your own city in terms of the five characteristics that you listed above. Propose how your city should/could be transformed in relation to these characteristics in order to be more sustainable.** **Monterrey, Mexico** **1. Stability:** In the Professional and economical environment there are lots of opportunities to work and new business possibilities where to grow up. But there are strong social differences. People don't want to share common spaces in the city. The city is not designed to improve meetings between different sectors of society. It is a segmented city. **2. Excellent Public spaces / a wakable city:** This is the worst topic after crime rates. It is impossible to walk the city, cars are not respectful with pedestrians, the accessibility is null, there are only few public spaces. People are not used to enjoy the streets. People are constantly throwing garbage to the street, obstructing the public drainage, deteriorating the urban landscape, etc. It is not a pleasing town except for a few areas such as Fundidora park, Santa Lucia and 2 pedestrian walkways. **3. Excellent public transportation and public services:** The public transportation networking is also a big problem, the metro has only two lines, (in my case it is totally useless) Mostly there are not bus stops, the frequency is a mystery, the indications are not clear nor the timetables. The public services are not so badly and they are not expensive. But, in the other hand, the electric and data network is superficial, when there is a problem with, the bureaucracy is huge and is slow to fix troubles. The urban landscape is full of wires. Riding a bike is very dangerous. I don't want to owe a car but I'm forced to buy one. There is not a culture about pedestrian, bikes, public trasnportation. It is a city designed for cars not for people. Since few years ago, Monterrey is considered one of the most polluted city of the country. Before was one with the best quality air. Everything is about planning and education. 4. Security: Monterrey has been hit by drug traffic. It is the principal reason to have a feeling of a weak security. There are kidnapping networks, extortions, etc. The streets are not well illuminated, so it make unsafe to walk through it during the night. The police is very corrupted, most of them are part of drug cartel. 5. Excellent Cultural / recreational / Natural environment: There are not many cultural offers but recreational and natural environment are ok. Monterrey has an incredible system of mountains and many beautiful landscapes few minutes away by car. The city has good connections by airplane, so you can enjoy the amazing country easily.It is a city with an interesting musical offer. **What we can do to improve this city:** In my opinion everything can start educating people. Citizens must understand that public transportation, public space, culture environments, social mixed activities, etc, make a city liveable and sustainable. People should avoid thinking about their personal growth based on how many goods they have, understanding that a better life quality is also out of their homes. Avoiding social exclusion, enjoying the streets, etc. As designers we should improve the relation between public and private spaces, fostering sustainability as a way to life. Changing the mind about a city designed for cars to a the city designed for people. In the other hand, the political situation requires organized citizens, demanding transparency in the use of public money. Take advance of the big data base generated by all mobile devices used by the citizens to understand the best way to fix the problems. **Humanize the city. Educate people. Do things: Less talk, more actions** [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14177351378771393.jpg