Abstract
It is pertinent that urban transport infrastructure developments do not disrupt the lifestyle, health,
wellbeing and quality of life of the citizenry for which they are planned. The study aims to identify
critical criteria upon which liveability can be measured in an area or location in which transport
infrastructure development (new or capacity expansion) is proposed. Existing literature was
reviewed and synthesised to identify liveability indicators used in previous studies. Review
materials were sourced from accredited journals and conference proceedings. The materials were
selected based on their currency and possession of the following keywords and phrases:
liveability, sustainability, liveability considerations, liveability indicators, wellbeing of habitants,
road planning, and transport infrastructure. Thematic content analysis was used to identify the
emerging themes (liveability indicators) from the review. The factors identified were discussed
based on their frequency of occurrence, which revealed the relative degree of consensus about
them in the literature reviewed. Findings indicate that pollution, ease of access to amenities,
services and opportunities, efficiency and effectiveness of service, safety and security, generally
indicate liveability (in relation to transport development) in an urban area. Other indicators
including availability of alternative modes of transport, reliability/travel time reduction, street
aesthetic quality and economic vitality/business environment were also reported as benchmarks
for urban liveability. By identifying the indicators of liveability in an urban area, the study
provides valuable information that will be useful to road infrastructure planners in evaluating the
impact of proposed road infrastructure developments on the environment and the citizenry for
which they are intended. The major limitation of the study lies in the fact that it presents a
distillation of extant literature which may not really reflect the reality of what is considered
“liveable”. Nonetheless, planners will take cognizance of the identified liveability indicators when
planning for road projects, whether for new road or capacity expansion.