Culture&Territories#3

CeiED | CULTURE & TERRITORY
PROBLEM STATEMENT
342
The theoretical review found a scarcity in methodologies that reflect in the relationship
between the UQOL and the indicators of access and use of Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs), determine the spatial distribution based
on elements of geographical analysis, and use statistics to determine the probability
that a specific hypothesis is best supported by the data.
The reviewed methodologies get their conclusions from structural indexes, build
with traditional macroeconomic indicators and fed by data at the metropolitan area
level. These methodologies are generated by globalized models of development
which propose hegemonic public policies decontextualized from territories. The
problem is these results generalize the thought that all the MMA municipalities share
the same level of UQOL, hindering the understanding of an urban reality that is
segregated and socio-economically polarized. In consequence, the significance of the
access to and use of information to improve the well-being between social groups,
is ignored.
Objectives
Seeking to demonstrate the territorial differences of the MMA and to debate the
illusion that the city is an integrated whole, this study answers the question: Is there
a relationship between the variables of access and use of ICTs and the spatial
distribution of the material quality of life? Based on geostatistical methods, it aims to
advance knowledge on the UQOL related to the access to and use of ICTs and the
type and intensity of said relationship for which a negative correlation is hypothesized,
meaning: the bigger the digital divide, the lower the material quality of urban life.
Rationale
An instrument for measuring the UQOL is assembled. The instrument is constructed
from an analysis of other consolidated indexes. The contribution seeks to
demonstrate the existence of a significant correlation between the material
well-being and the social exclusion from technologies. Meaning, the phenomenon
of the digital divide moves along with the UQOL phenomenon.
UQOL
The UQOL refers to the conditions in a city that guarantees the welfare of the
inhabitants and takes into account the particularities of a socially constructed
territory. The purpose of the UQOL is the satisfaction of the socioeconomic
and environmental dimensions that provide a set of opportunities of equality of
development for the individuals in the production and reproduction of a dignified and
healthy life in any city, (Delgado, 2007; Fadda & Jiron, 1999). Escobar and Fitch (2013),
recognize two directions in the study of the UQOL: the theory of preferences and
the theory of needs. This contribution is based on and deepens in the theory of
needs as it is the most prolific research line with a large number of studies and which
refers to material conditions related to housing, health, employment and nutrition.