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A New Way of Monitoring the Quality of Urban Life

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  • Eduardo Lora
  • Andrew Powell

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology to resolve the problems that result from using a combination of objective and subjective information in evaluating urban quality of life. The paper further suggests techniques to identify and rank issues of potential importance for urban dwellers. In order to combine objective and subjective information in a coherent manner and focus on the most relevant dimensions of the quality of life in a city or neighborhood, the paper attempts to exploit the complementary nature of two approaches: the “hedonic” approach, which employs market prices for housing, and the “life satisfaction” approach, which addresses subjective well-being. Results using both approaches in selected Latin American cities are discussed and compared. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential uses of the two-pronged methodology for policy analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Eduardo Lora & Andrew Powell, 2011. "A New Way of Monitoring the Quality of Urban Life," Research Department Publications 4729, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  • Handle: RePEc:idb:wpaper:4729
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    Cited by:

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    2. Porfirio Guevara & Robert Hill & Michael Scholz, 2017. "Hedonic indexes for public and private housing in Costa Rica," International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 140-155, February.
    3. Mohamed A. Abdrabo & Mahmoud A. Hassaan & Rofida G. Abdelwahab, 2022. "A spatial hedonic approach for modeling the relationship between quality of urban life and housing prices, case study: Alexandria city, Egypt," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 59-77, April.
    4. Luigi Doria, 2023. "Reading cases of local quality of life assessment as incomplete and socio-politically contentious practices," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1393-1420, April.
    5. Velásquez, Liliana, 2011. "La importancia de los bienes públicos en la calidad de vida local: El caso de Manizales, Colombia," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3121, Inter-American Development Bank.
    6. Hashem Dadashpoor & Nina Khalighi, 2016. "Investigating Spatial Distribution of Regional Quality of Life (RQoL) in Iran Between 1996 and 2011," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 1217-1248, July.
    7. František Petrovič & František Murgaš, 2021. "Description Relationship between Urban Space and Quality of Urban Life. A Geographical Approach," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Ilyes Bougouffa & Ariva Sugandi Permana, 2018. "A Study on the Linkages between Residential Satisfaction and the Overall Quality of Life in Bandar Tun Razak Area of Kuala Lumpur City, Malaysia," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 991-1013, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D19 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Other
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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