FAIRHAVEN — People are "ice-screaming" with excitement for the upcoming Scoops on the Street: A Ferry Street Block Party.

Cities are slowing their streets. Building on traditions of livable-street design and traffic calming, planners in Boston have embraced speed humps as a basic right of residents on local streets.

Livable cities and resilient communities prioritize the well-being of their residents. But what makes one city livable and another not, and is there something we can learn from them to improve ...