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Compassionate Cities Index

Thank you for your interest in the Compassionate Cities Index!
Click below to take the Louisville Compassion Survey:


The Compassionate Cities Index is a project from University of Louisville's Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging, in partnership with Louisville Metro Government, the University of Louisville School of Medicine, the International Charter for Compassionate Cities, Compassionate Louisville and the International Charter for Compassion. The Index builds on the work of Drs. Anna Faul and Joseph D'Ambrosio and the international compassionate cities movement. As a growing number of cities and communities begin to prioritize compassion and commit to the Compassionate Cities Movement, the need for a standardized measurement tool to evaluate compassion has grown. The Compassionate Cities Index will be a reliable and accurate tool for measuring the prevalence of compassion in cities.

 Featured: Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer; Dr. Rev. Joan Brown-Campbell, Charter for Compassion; Dr. Joe D'Ambrosio, UofL Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging; Jon Ramer, Compassion Games

Measuring Compassion

The Index will measure compassion through nine domains:

  • Psychological Well-Being
  • Community Disparities
  • Community Vitality
  • Health
  • Governance
  • Ecological Resilience
  • Educational Attainment
  • Compassionate Business
  • Standards of Living

The Index will utilize objective contextual data which will be gathered through public and partner databases for objective measures. The additional survey component of the Index will measure subjective individual data focused on individual indicators of compassion including forgiveness, empathy, hope, guilt, spirituality, and sense of belonging. Semi-structured interviews will also be conducted to gain an understanding of individual definitions and views of compassion within neighborhoods, communities, and the city as a whole.

 Louisville Compassion Movement

Louisville has been a leader in the global compassionate cities movement since 2011 when Mayor Greg Fischer and the Louisville Metro Council formally committed the city to the Charter for Compassion. Since then, Louisville has been named a model compassionate city for its programs such as Mayor’s Give-A-Day and the success of Compassionate Louisville, a grassroots network of organizations who have adopted the Compassion Resolution. In 2016, Louisville was named a Model Compassionate City for the 5th year in a row.

Study Contacts

Lauren Humpert, BSW - Study Coordinator - [email protected] - 502-852-5228

Joe D'Ambrosio, PhD - Primary Investigator - [email protected]

Anna Faul, PhD - Primary Investigator - [email protected]