The work synthesizes past and current research on the quality of urban life that has been done internationally. It emphasizes the contributions of the urban environment to the overall well-being of residents living in urban areas ranging in scale from small cities and their hinterlands to metropolitan regions. By urban environment, we mean the socio-physical aspects of urban living ranging from individual dwellings and neighbourhoods to public services (i.e. transportation, rubbish collection, etc.) to neighbours and community organizations. The work emphasizes not only perceptions of and behaviours within urban environments but the actual conditions to which individuals are responding. That is, the research covers both the subjective and behavioural aspects of urban living but also the objective conditions which drive them.
The work that has been underway is theoretically driven and will contribute to knowledge in several academic disciplines. At the same time, it is designed to inform public policy and planning in each setting.
This book stems from a long period of collaborative research between the editors, research colleagues, and their graduate students. It als draws on collaborative research with international scholars investigating aspects of urban quality of life in their respective settings. Many of these efforts parallel work initiated by the editors in metro Detroirt and in southeast Queensland. It involves research that incorporated theoretical and methodological appraches to the conceptualizing and measuring quality of life. The book will cover research designs that are based on both the analysis and modelling of aggregate secondary data and the collection, analysis and modelling of primary survey data on subjective urban quality of life. It also covers the interface of survey data with spatial objective data using GIS techniques.
The book will comprise chapters which: 1) provide an overview of theoretical perspectives on the study of urban quality of life; 2) present research designs for the collection of data to measure and model QoL domains; 3) provide a series of case studies of urban QoL in a number of around the world.
About the Author: Robert W. Marans is a research professor at the Institute for Social Research and a professor emeritus of architecture and urban planning in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. During the past 30 years, Dr. Marans has conducted evaluative studies and research dealing with various aspects of communities, neighborhoods, housing, and parks and recreation and recreational facilities. His research has focused on user requirements and the manner in which attributes of the physical and sociocultural environments influence individual and group behavior and the quality of community life. Much of Dr. Marans' research has been in the context of urban areas. His current research considers the impact of the built and natural environments on quality of life, the role of neighborhood in the health of Detroit residents, and issues of sustainability in the workplace. The latter examines the human aspects of energy conservation and sustainability at the University of Michigan.
Marans is a registered architect and is active in recreation planning and policy in southeastern Michigan. He is a charter member and president of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation commission and commissioner of the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA), the governing body responsible for the planning, development, and operations of the metroparks throughout Southeastern Michigan. He serves on the board of the Michigan Land Use Institute, and is a trustee of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. He has also been a trustee of the Washtenaw Land Trust and served on the executive committee of the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute and the University's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy. Dr. Marans is the author or co-author of 7 books and more than 100 articles and technical reports. He has lectured extensively throught the US and in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Brazil and the Middle East.
