state of the world's cities 2012/2013 - United Nations Sustainable ...

Chapter 2.3Quality of Life andUrban ProsperityToday no one disputes that quality of life is essentialfor a city to prosper. The notion is increasingly used bydecision-makers, practitioners and urban populationsalike. Everyone agrees on its importance, but everyonewill also agree that this notion comes with differentmeanings and facets. Many efforts have been made todevelop a policy-oriented definition, yet the essenceof quality of life remains vague when applied to urbanareas. Despite these different views and understandings,the very basic notion remains largely similar both in thedeveloped and the developing world: peoples in Jakarta,Naples, Los Angeles or Bogotá will, to large extent,share similar concerns, including decent employment,material wellbeing, fulfilling family lives and goodhealth. Individuals and specific circumstances mayvalue one of these factors over others; yet, as noted inthe Report by the French Government Commission onthe Measurement of Economic Performance and SocialProgress (2009), these constitute “the most importantfeatures that give life its value.” 1Measuring Quality of LifeRecently, efforts have turned from definition to scientificmeasurement of quality of life. To Nobel laureateAmartya Sen, quality of life is determined by the variousopportunities open to individuals, and their freedom tochoose from these many opportunities. 3 Other conceptualapproaches measure quality of life based on the notion ofsubjective well-being and on economic notions drawn fromwelfare economics. 4 The most comprehensive subjectivemeasurement of quality of life is the World Values Survey,which reflects representativeindividuals’ beliefs andThe choicevalues in 54 countries around fact of indicatorsthe world. 5 More recentreflects the audience formeasurements of quality of which the indices arebeing created. The UNlifecombine subjective andHabitat city prosperityobjective measures. In 2003,index is primarily aimedthe European Environmental at city leaders andAgency investigated eight national governments.domains of individualTherefore, the qualitylife situations in 25 EUof life indicators in theindex include healthmember states, rangingand education andfrom economic situation,various infrastructurehousing and employment indicators.to work-life balance, health,subjective well-being andperceived quality of life. 6The international human resource consulting firm, Mercer,focuses on the quality of life of expatriates, taking in criteriasuch as availability of consumer goods, the economicenvironment, the natural, political and social environmentsas well as recreation amenities. 7Quality of Life: A Synthesis of AllDimensions of ProsperityQuality of life underpins thefunctionality of cities: thenotion is at the crossroadsof all policies and actions 8 ,and a synthesis of all thedimensions of prosperity.When a city generatesemployment and economicgrowth, quality of lifeimproves. When a citydesigns better buildingsfact“Quality of lifeis often tiedto the opportunitiesavailable to people,to the meaning andpurpose they attach totheir lives and to theextent to which theyenjoy the possibilitiesavailable to them”. 259