scholarly journals Assessing Urban Quality of Life: Developing the Criteria for Saudi Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamal Al-Qawasmi ◽  
Muhammad Saeed ◽  
Omar S. Asfour ◽  
Adel S. Aldosary

Urban quality of life (QOL) is a complex and multidimensional concept. A wide range of urban QOL assessment tools has been developed worldwide to measure and monitor the quality of urban life taking into account the particular conditions of cities/regions and the needs of their residents. This study aims to develop an urban QOL assessment tool appropriate for the context of Saudi Arabia (SA). For this purpose, this study developed and used a structured approach that consists of an in-depth analysis of 21 urban QOL assessment tools in use worldwide, combined with focus group analysis and feedback from a panel of experts. The results revealed that there is a lack of consensus among the existing tools regarding the usage of QOL indicators and domains, and that the majority of the tools demonstrate a lack of proper coverage of QOL subdomains. The results also show wide variations in the number of indicators used and that most of the examined tools are using objective measurable indicators. This study has identified 67 indicators distributed across 13 domains that constitute the core criteria of the proposed QOL assessment tool. The selected indicators and domains cover all the attributes of urban QOL and are evaluated by experts as important criteria to assess/measure QOL. Moreover, the results demonstrate the advantage of the developed framework and comprehensive list of criteria (CLC) as a structured and efficient approach to design better QOL assessment tools.

Author(s):  
Agata Gawlak ◽  
Magda Matuszewska ◽  
Agnieszka Ptak

This article aims to compare the international tools assessing the quality of life and to carry out their multifaceted qualitative analysis, emphasizing spatial aspects (architecture, urban planning) and demographic changes. Comparative analysis of three guidelines and 13 rankings includes a comparison of a wide range of domains (2–15), criteria (4–66), and indices (22–223). The already observed worldwide trends of aging societies and increasing urban populations have largely drawn the attention of researchers to the urban life quality. Since the early 1990s, many international tools have been developed for that purpose. Although urban practitioners progressively rely on instruments measuring urban quality of life, in the development of urban policy, there is still little research comparing the already available appraisal instruments in view of their measurement criteria. The results of the research on the global tools show that there are major differences between them, either in view of the purpose, the contracting authorities, research focus group, scale, or in view of the importance of spatial and demographic factors. Such findings can contribute to the development of local guidelines and recommendations for self-government authorities and communities, in this the seniors and future generations, in view of improving the urban life quality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4945
Author(s):  
Jamal Al-Qawasmi

Although indicators are commonly used to measure/assess urban quality of life (QOL), there is no consensus in the literature on the core indicators of urban QOL. This paper aims to identify a set of key indicators that will be used to assess/measure urban QOL in the Saudi Arabia (SA) context. For this purpose, a three-round online Delphi procedure is used. A group of 92 local experts were asked to rate the importance of a set of pre-defined indicators in assessing/measuring urban QOL. The results reveal that the panel of experts reached consensus and agreed on the high importance of 53 indicators for assessing/measuring urban QOL. These indicators provide appropriate coverage of the three core dimensions of urban QOL: environmental, social and economic. However, the results also show that the social indicators are perceived as more essential than economic and environmental indicators. This finding has practical implications for designing and developing QOL assessment tools to better capture and measure urban QOL in the SA context. Furthermore, research findings also identified some methodological limitations associated with using the Delphi approach, which need to be addressed to ensure the development of comprehensive QOL assessment tools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 191-214
Author(s):  
Isabela Veloso Lopes Versiani

O presente artigo tem como objetivo aprofundar o debate acerca da emergência do tema da qualidade de vida vinculado ao meio urbano e de suas possibilidades para o planejamento urbano. De caráter exploratório, através de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, o artigo procura delimitar marcos conceituais sobre a qualidade de vida e sua relação com um novo modelo de planejamento urbano a partir do paradigma do desenvolvimento social e de diretrizes do Estatuto da Cidade (2001), além de discutir formas de operacionalização desse conceito tendo como base algumas experiências de construção de sistemas de indicadores de qualidade de vida urbana no Brasil. Como resultados, evidencia-se que a preocupação com a qualidade de vida tem sido expressão recorrente nos debates sobre o presente e futuro das cidades, ganhando espaço e legitimidade a partir de um esforço de delimitação conceitual e de instrumentos para sua mensuração, destacando a contribuição de indicadores georreferenciados para melhor compreensão de desigualdades intraurbanas em diversas áreas. Acredita-se que a incorporação dessa discussão ao planejamento urbano pode contribuir de maneira significativa para pensar e operacionalizar instrumentos que auxiliem no direcionamento de ações e efetivação de políticas públicas para melhoria das condições de vida da população. Palavras-chave: Planejamento Urbano; Indicadores; Qualidade de vida.   GEOREFERENCED INDICATORS OF URBAN QUALITY OF LIFE: possibilities for urban planning  Abstract  This article aims to deepen the debate on the growth of the quality of life theme linked to the urban environment and its possibilities for the urban planning. With exploratory character, through bibliographical and documentary research, the article seeks to define conceptual frameworks on the quality of life and its relationship with a new urban planning model from the social development paradigm and the “City Statute” guidelines (2001), besides discussing ways of operationalizing this concept, basing on experiences of previously existing systems of urban quality of life indicators in Brazil. As a result, it is clear that the concern for quality of life has been a recurring point in discussions regarding the present and future of cities, gaining ground and legitimacy from efforts of conceptual delimitation and tools for its measurement, highlighting the contribution of georeferenced indicators for a better understanding of intra-urban inequalities in many areas. It is believed that the incorporation of this discussion into urban planning can contribute significantly to think and operationalize instruments that can help to direct actions and execution of public policies to improve the living conditions of the population. Keywords: Urban Planning; Indicators; Quality of life.   INDICADORES GEOREFERENCIADOS DE CALIDAD DE VIDA URBANA: posibilidades de planificación urbana Resumen En este artículo se pretende profundizar el debate sobre el surgimiento del tema de la calidad de vida relacionado con el ambiente urbano y sus posibilidades para la planificación urbana. De carácter exploratorio, a través de la investigación bibliográfica y documental, el artículo busca definir los marcos conceptuales de la calidad de vida y su relación con un nuevo modelo de planificación urbana desde el paradigma del desarrollo social y las directrices del Estatuto de la Ciudad (2001), además de discutir maneras de hacer operativo este concepto basado en algunas experiencias en la construcción de sistemas de indicadores de calidad de vida urbana en Brasil. Como resultado de ello, es evidente que la preocupación por la calidad de vida ha sido una expresión recurrente en los debates sobre el presente y futuro de las ciudades, ganando terreno y legitimidad a través de esfuerzos de delimitación conceptual y herramientas para su medición, destacando la contribución de indicadores georeferenciados para una mejor comprensión de las desigualdades intra-urbanas en muchas áreas. Se cree que la incorporación de esta discusión a la planificación urbana puede contribuir significativamente a pensar y operar instrumentos que ayudan a dirigir las acciones y ejecución de políticas públicas para mejorar las condiciones de vida de la población. Palabras-clave: Planificación urbana, indicadores, calidad de vida.


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