Investigating Quality of Urban Life: Theory, Methods, and Empirical Research (Social Indicators Research Series Book 45)

This volume synthesizes past and current, international research on the quality of urban life. It emphasizes the contributions of the urban environment to the overall well-being of residents living in urban areas ranging in scale from small cities and their hinterlands to metropolitan regions. The term urban environment refers to the socio-physical aspects of urban living ranging from individual dwellings and neighborhoods to public services (i.e. transportation, rubbish collection, etc.) to neighbors and community organizations. The work emphasizes not only perceptions of and behaviors within urban environments but the actual conditions to which individuals are responding. The research covers both the subjective and behavioral aspects of urban living as well as the objective conditions which drive them. Drawing on collaborative research with a broad group of researchers in a variety of settings around the world, the book incorporates theoretical and methodological approaches to the conceptualizing and measuring of quality of life. It covers research designs that are based on both the analysis and modeling of aggregate secondary data and on the collection, analysis and modeling of primary survey data on subjective urban quality of life. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi An Overview of Quality of Urban Life....Pages 1-29 Front Matter....Pages 31-31 Objective Measurement of Quality of Life Using Secondary Data Analysis....Pages 33-53 Subjective Measurement of Quality of Life Using Primary Data Collection and the Analysis of Survey Data....Pages 55-75 The Evolution of Integrative Approaches to the Analysis of Quality of Urban Life....Pages 77-104 Front Matter....Pages 105-105 Amenities, Quality of Life, and Regional Development....Pages 107-133 Variations in Objective Quality of Urban Life Across a City Region: The Case of Phoenix....Pages 135-160 Front Matter....Pages 161-161 The Quality of Life in Metro Detroit at the Beginning of the Millennium....Pages 163-183 The Brisbane-South East Queensland Region, Australia: Subjective Assessment of Quality of Urban Life and Changes over Time....Pages 185-207 Measuring Quality of Urban Life in Istanbul....Pages 209-231 The Quality of Urban Life and Neighborhood Satisfaction in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus....Pages 233-249 The Quality of Life in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Neighborhood Quality as a Major Component of Residential Satisfaction....Pages 251-272 The Salzburg Quality of Urban Life Study with GIS Support....Pages 273-293 Subjective Quality of Life in Queensland: Comparing Metropolitan, Regional and Rural Areas....Pages 295-313 Comparing Urban and Rural Quality of Life in the State of Washington....Pages 315-343 Front Matter....Pages 345-345 Modeling Determinants of Subjective QOUL at Different Geographic Scales: The Case of the Brisbane-SEQ Region....Pages 347-367 Disaggregating the Measurement of Quality of Urban Life Dimensions Across a Complex Metro Region: The Case of Metro Detroit....Pages 369-384 A Spatial Clustering Approach Analyzing Types of Objective Quality of Urban Life Using Spatial Data for Survey Respondents: South East Queensland, Australia....Pages 385-403 Using GIS to Derive Region-Wide Patterns of Quality of Urban Life Dimensions: Illustrated with Data from the Brisbane-SEQ Region....Pages 405-434 Front Matter....Pages 435-435 Challenges for Quality of Urban Life Research....Pages 437-444 Back Matter....Pages 445-453 This volume synthesizes past and current, international research on the quality of urban life. It emphasizes the contributions of the urban environment to the overall well-being of residents living in urban are as ranging in scale from small cities and their hinterlands to metropolitan regions. The term urban environment refers to the socio-physical aspects of urban living ranging from individual dwellings and neighborhoods to public services (i.e. transportation, rubbish collection etc.) to neighbors and community organization. The work emphasizes not only perceptions of and behaviors within urban environments but the actual conditions to which individuals are responding. The research covers both the subjective and behavioral aspects of urban living as well as the objective conditions which drive them. Drawing on collaborative research with a broad group of researchers in a variety of settings around the world, the book incorporates theoretical and methodological approaches to the conceptualizing and measuring of quality of life. It covers research designs that are based on both the analysis and modeling of aggregate secondary data and on the collection, analysis and modeling of primary survey data on subjective urban quality of life. --Book Jacket The study of quality of urban life involves both an objective approach to analysis using spatially aggregated secondary data and a subjective approach using unit record survey data whereby people provide subjective evaluations of QOL domains. This book provides a comprehensive overview of theoretical perspectives on QOUL and methodological approaches to research design to investigate QOUL and measure QOL dimensions. It incorporates empirical investigations into QOUL in a range of cities across the world.