Uploaded on 2017-10-25 by Isabella Brenchley-Wood

EDX Module 3 – Livability Criteria 1. Below, I have selected the criteria’s, which I believe contribute the most to a city’s livability. k. Job Opportunities h. Housing n. Safety d. Education g. Health Care 2. I live in Portugal, a little country besides Spain. I was born in the southern region (The Algarve) - Known for it’s touristic popularity. In comparison, to other cities I live in Portugal for these 5 reasons: Climate, security, beautiful surroundings, small number of population and culture. 3. My place of residence fulfils around 25% on a scale from 1-100 my ideal livability criteria. Portugal is ideal for those on holiday, but to live on a permanent basis, it is a very backward country and needs a lot of improvements. On a general note, I believe that most would rate Portugal 35% on a livability score. 4. If I were the mayor of Albufeira, I would improve many aspects of livability. The first thing we must understand about Portugal is that it is stuck in time. The politicians, mayors, head of state and even most population, are nearing retirement or are retired. This makes innovative suggestions or changes a big challenge. For them, the way the system is programmed, works. As it has for years. However, the population is growing, and by seeing their needs not being fulfilled, they have no choice but to immigrate, leaving the country in the same situation. For this reason, if I were the mayor, I would hear young and creative ideas. I would make a team up from fresh people, and combine both pre-existing knowledge and the one we have acquired today. I would take care of transportation. Make is accessible to all, I would innovate is aesthetics and make it more pocket friendly. Like most in Portugal, the infrastructures are aged and grubby, for example, the main hospitals in the area have disgraceful aesthetic aspects. A hospital is supposed to be seen as a clean and should be of most importance to make sure that it is confortable and secure. However, the seating is broken and old and the walls need repainting, for example. You are not permitted to accompany your sick family member and you will find yourself waiting for hours on end to be attended to, the elderly are literally left to die on corridors and the young to cry for their parents. If you are on the minimal wage (555€) per month, you are going to find accommodation a real obstacle, as most is around 500€ a month, that leaves you with little money to survive. For this, I would make housing accessible to all, without burdening their wallets. 5. If I decided to change my place of resident, the following would be my top three choices: Italy, France and England. I have chosen these three countries’ as my preference if I had to move for they are innovative countries. They put in practise new ideas, focusing not only on the present but the future way of living too. The scenery of these places are, in my opinion, beautiful, as they still have a lot of history but are able to incorporate new architecture to them or besides them, I find this extremely important, as a cities history is its present. The population is, in majority, full of open-minded people that have quirky ideas and put them in practise. There are many more job opportunities, with better salaries, that in consequence bring a better quality of life. Finally, the health care, which Is a very important aspect on livability, as you need to feel you have support if anything were to happen to you, and from what I have heard, these countries are much better than Portugal, and they use innovative ideas in medicine and are much more evolved.