This report examines how the two global mega-trends of population ageing and rising inequalities have been developing and interacting, both within and across generations. Taking a life-course perspective the report shows how inequalities in education, health, employment and earnings compound, resulting in large differences in lifetime earnings…

The purpose of this paper is to develop the concept and definition of multidimensional urban areas, thereby providing insights into our understanding of the sub-regional structures of household spatial systems. Hence, we propose a framework for strategic planning that considers several areas of household needs. In order to achieve this goal, we…

It is commonly assumed that better living standards will boost subjective well-being. The post-apartheid South African government subscribes to this idea; its social policies aim to provide "a better life for all". Since the coming of democracy in 1994, the state has built over 3 million houses and supplied electricity and clean water to…

Urban quality of life (QoL) is becoming a subject of urban research mainly for western and Asian countries. Such attention is due to an increasing awareness of the contribution of QoL studies in identifying intervention areas and in monitoring urban planning policies. However, most studies are carried out at city or country level that can average…

Housing, an essential aspect of quality of life, is also significant for sustainable development (SD). All of the major international statements on SD refer to housing or settlement strategies. However, indicator sets derived from these statements often fail to include good indicators of sustainable housing. This article outlines the…

Most research on the non-economic quality of life have been (a) on a national level or performed on cross-country comparisons, and/or (b) used subjective indicators to measure how people perceive their non-economic quality of life. In this paper, our main contribution is to construct objective indicators of the non-economic quality of life for 354…

Research suggests that for many people happiness is being able to make the routines of everyday life work, such that positive feelings dominate over negative feelings resulting from daily hassles. In line with this, a survey of work commuters in the three largest urban areas of Sweden show that satisfaction with the work commute contributes to…

Describes an attempt to develop an instrument based on subjectively derived data, capable of assessing and classifying human communities according to social climate. The strengths of the scale are discussed as well as the types of data that might be collected to further test the instrument. (Author/SA)

The New York City Social Indicators Survey examines New York City's social climate, surveying a representative sample of families regarding their perceptions of life in the city and indicators of their quality of life and experiences of hardship. The 1999 survey examined the period between 1997-1999, a time of strong economic performance and…

This study successfully interviewed 109 randomly selected Chinese people aged 60 and over living alone in two public housing estates in an urban area of Hong Kong. The results show that mental health status, number of days staying in hospital, life satisfaction, age, and self-esteem are significant factors in predicting the life quality of older…

This book lists and rates 219 U.S. "micropolitan" areas, defined as small cities and their surrounding territories, or combinations of neighboring small cities. The book consists of tables rating these cities, listed by state, in each of the following 10 categories: (1) climate and environment; (2) diversions; (3) economics; (4)…

Child poverty, as a critical indicator of the QOL, is intricately related to the social structure of the community. This hypothesis is explored for the 159 counties of Georgia for the year 2000. The influence of demographic, economic, family and health factors upon child poverty are explored through models of total, black and white child poverty.…

Data derived from 1,423 adults who were permanent residents in 9 northwest Wisconsin counties in 1974 were used to test the hypothesis that peripheral metropolitan ring areas (within 30 miles of cities over 50,000) have more pleasing natural environments and more desirable social settings than urban areas and offer better access to jobs and…