STATE OF THE WORLD'S CITIES 2012/2013 Prosperity

State of the World’s Cities 2012/2013
and public spaces that
Cities that
provide attractive,
POLICy improve quality
secure, clean and
of life experience higher
durable surroundings,
levels of prosperity; they
are also likely to find
it is improving quality
themselves more advanced
of life. When a city
in terms of sustainability.
provides adequate
public transport, it
improves quality of
life for both users
and non-users. When a city raises levels of education and
provides good healthcare it is ensuring quality of life for
the foreseeable future. And when a city reduces the use
of environmental resources and becomes more energyefficient,
it also improves quality of life.
According to the
UN-Habitat survey
(2011), on balance experts
value security to live
and work freely, good
quality of education,
adequate housing with
basic services, and
meaningful employment
and decent income as the
most important factors
FACT
Experts from
52 cities consider
quality of life as the second
most important dimension
promoting prosperity in
cities, after infrastructure
development.
POLICy
It is in any city’s
best interest to
promote public goods such
as public transport, green
areas and public spaces
and ‘urban commons’ such
as safety and security and
political participation in
order to enhance quality of
life and shared prosperity.
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promoting quality of life and prosperity in their cities.
In Europe, a survey on perceived quality of life in
75 cities (2010) shows that ‘the three most important issues
for the city’ were: educational facilities, job creation/reduce
unemployment and the availability and quality of health
services, among seven other alternatives such as social
services, housing conditions, air pollution, noise, public
transport, infrastructure and safety. 9
It remains that, as perceived by experts and residents
in developing and developed countries alike, the quality of
urban life is a broader concept that includes a full range of
factors such as economic development, living standards,
material progress and individual and collective wellbeing,
which all are important dimensions of prosperity.
Accessibility, environmental sustainability and health: cyclists on dedicated cycle lanes in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
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