On Wednesday, November 9, 2022, the Chamber released the 2022 Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Livability Index (MLI) and virtually hosted over 125 regional professionals for the first discussion in our Healthy & Livable Program Series of the year. The report—conducted by analytical services firm Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) and made possible through the support of several research underwriters*—compares the Greater Philadelphia region with seven peer metros across ten key measures. The report tells a story about our regional competitiveness, vitality, and livability and was developed as a tool to establish a baseline of our region’s current performance, especially in comparison to other metropolitan areas, so that we can begin to track our trajectories of growth.
Rebecca DeJoseph, Director at ESI, presented the report, including the Greater Philadelphia region’s performance within and its overall livability. DeJoseph explains the importance of the purpose and timing of the Index in this short video clip:
DeJoseph went on to provide deeper insights into the indicators within the MLI and Greater Philadelphia’s performance within, noting that our region ranks as a leader in access to health care and arts vibrancy (#2 in both) and shows strong performance in housing availability. In contrast, Greater Philadelphia ranked near the bottom in housing cost burden (#6) and leisure opportunities (#7). In other measures, such as commute times and modes, childcare availability, and environmental factors, the region ranked near the middle of the pack.
This balanced performance resulted in Greater Philadelphia’s composite ranking as fourth out of eight peer regions, which makes our region uniquely positioned and well-poised for continued growth and improvement in overall livability. DeJoseph summarized by stating, “The hope of this index is that it can be a starting point for conversations and to enable actions that will make the region a more livable place for both current residents and also more attractive for new residents and businesses.”
DeJoseph was later joined by a panel of notable regional experts, including Anne Ishii, Executive Director, Asian Arts Initiative; Sylvie Gallier Howard, Founder & CEO, Equitable Cities Consulting; and Steve Wilmot, Associate Vice President – Primary Care, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Josh Maxwell, County Commissioner, Chester County, moderated the panel, which conversed on audience-submitted questions and explored ongoing efforts within the community to support our continued growth related to livability.
With this analysis in hand, the Chamber, our members, and community can now best target initiatives both to solidify our regional strengths as well as to improve upon our weaknesses. The Metropolitan Livability Index—which includes more detailed information on methodologies, peer regions, opportunities, and full rankings on specific measures—can be found here.
*Thank you to the underwriters whose contributions to the research made the creation of the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Livability Index possible: AARP, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, CVS, Harsco, Independence Blue Cross, Meyer Design, PIDC, and Visit Philly, as well as our sponsors who supported the Healthy & Livable program, AARP and Econsult Solutions.
