Evaluating Livability Perceptions: Indicators to Evaluate Livability of a University Campus

Raghad Almashhour () and Fatin Samara ()
Additional contact information
Raghad Almashhour: Department of Industrial Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates
Fatin Samara: Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-31

Abstract: Livability indicators and assessments are critical to promoting campus sustainability and livability. Despite the various indicator frameworks and local initiatives aimed at attaining sustainability, campus livability assessments in the Middle East are scarce. An extensive literature search was used in this paper to obtain the best livability indicators, and the Delphi method was used to reach consensus using a panel of experts in the fields of sustainability and livability. The determining indicators were identified and categorized according to Environmental Quality, Social and Cultural Elements, Accessibility, Amenities and Services, Safety, Housing, and Other Services. A questionnaire using both qualitative and quantitative questions was used, taking into consideration the perceptions of students, faculty, and staff residing at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) campus in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A score of 87/100 was obtained in this study, indicating that the AUS can be considered a highly livable campus. Responses showed that social and cultural elements, such as social gatherings, availability of restaurants, and children’s activities, were of utmost importance to the respondents. Additionally, services on campus, accessibility, and quality of housing played a major role in respondents’ choices. The index obtained in this study serves as a reference/benchmark for similar and comparative studies of campus livability, and can be adapted to similar scenarios. Moreover, this study opens the doors for future studies to gain deeper insights into the required steps to evaluate the livability of a campus, in order to facilitate future transformation of a traditional campus into a livable campus.

Keywords: livable campus; Delphi method; Relative Importance Index (RII); livability indicators; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/11872/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/11872/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:11872-:d:920626

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().