Measuring Quality of Life in Urban Areas: Toward an Integrated Approach

Abstract

The paper examines the various aspects involved in contextualizing and measuring quality of life (QOL) in urban areas. The paper reports on an ongoing research project that aims to establish multi-dimensional assessment system to measure QOL in Saudi Arabian cities. To develop a localized QOL measure that capture local aspects of QOL without losing the potential to compare data between different cities or regions, the paper critically analyzed and examined a wide range of conceptual and methodological issues related to QOL assessment and measurement. The study pointed out the need to adopt a multi-dimensional integrated approach that uses both a top-down and a bottom-up approach and incorporate secondary/objective data as well as primary data obtained through self-report surveys. An integrated framework to contextualize, operationalize and measure QOL in the Saudi context has been developed based on critical analysis of literature.