Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Evaluation and Management of Urban Liveability: A Goal Programming Based Composite Indicator

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper proposes a composite indicator intended to assess the degree of liveability provided by urban areas. This synthetic index makes two essential contributions to previous research. Firstly, it starts from a series of specifically urban partial indicators and dimensions. Secondly, the technique used to estimate the goal-programming-based index (Blancas et al. in Ecol Econ 69:2158–2172, 2010) enables urban managers to actively participate in constructing the indicator. The instrument was tested by estimating the index for a number of Spanish cities. The results reveal significant differences in the degree of liveability based on geographical location, population and functional hierarchy. Its application to Spain further highlights the tool’s potential for liveability analysis by varying urban manager profiles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Many authors defend the city as the most suitable level for evaluating urban liveability in functional terms (Wheeler 2000). However, the Spanish urban context does not contemplate supra-municipal organisms with powers for the coordinated design and implementation of measures aimed at improving liveability in urban functional areas. Therefore, we considered that the most suitable geographical scope for applying the ULI is the city in administrative terms, to the extent that, as pointed out by Devuyst (2001), it is the level at which the information provided may be of greatest use in urban planning.

  2. That is the case of the indicator of cost of living and education infrastructure.

  3. The data refers to 2011, except in those cases when it was not available. That is the case of the data for the number of crimes per 1000 inhabitants which refers to 2013, and the data for the area of public green spaces per inhabitant which refers to 2009. The number of library seats in Catalonian cities was only available for 2010.

  4. Readers must remember that relative deviation variables are calculated by using the data for partial indicators and the aspiration levels we have set in Sect. 4.

References

  • Abel, J. R., Gabe, T. M., & Stolarick, K. (2014). Skills across the urban-rural hierarchy. Growth and Change, 45(4), 499–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ammons, D. N. (2012). Municipal benchmarks: Assessing local performance and establishing community standards. New York: M. E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arbab, P. (2017). City prosperity inititative index: Using AHP method to recalculate the weights of dimensions and sub-dimensions in reference to Tehran Metropolis. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 6(4), 289–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Archibugi, F. (2001). City effect and urban overload as a program indicators of the regional policy. Social Indicators Research, 54, 209–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellet, C., & Llop, J. M. (2004). Miradas a otros espacios urbanos: las ciudades intermedias. Scripta Nova. Revista electronica de geografía y ciencias sociales, 165(8), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, J. P., & Premus, R. (1987). Major factors in industrial location: A review. Economic Development Quarterly, 1(1), 72–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blancas, F. J., Caballero, R., González, M., Lozano-Oyola, M., & Pérez, F. (2010). Goal programming synthetic indicators: An application for sustainable tourism in Andalusian coastal counties. Ecological Economics, 69, 2158–2172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonatti, G., Ivaldi, E., & Soliani, R. (2017). Quality of life in Italian cities: A temporal comparison between before the crisis and after. International Journal of Social Economics, 44(4), 560–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, R., & Savageau, D. (1981). Places Rated Almanac. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braulio-Gonzálo, M., Bovea, M. D., & Ruá, M. J. (2015). Sustainability on the urban scale: Proposal of a structure of indicators for the Spanish context. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 53, 16–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Button, K. (2002). City management and urban environmental indicators. Ecological Economics, 40, 217–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, S. (1996). Green cities, growing cities, just cities? Urban planning and the contradictions of sustainable development. Journal of the American Planning Association, 62, 296–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charnes, A., & Cooper, W. (1961). Management models and industrial applications of linear programming. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheema, S. G. (1993). The challenge of urban management: some issues. In S. G. Cheema & E. Wards (Eds.), Urban management policies and innovations in developing countries (1-17). London: Praeger Westport.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cicerchia, A. (1999). Measures of optimal centrality: Indicators of city effect and urban overloading. Social Indicators Research, 46, 273–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullen, J. B., & Levitt, S. D. (1999). Crime, urban flight, and the consequences for cities. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 81(2), 159–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, D. (2008). Urban quality of life: A case study of Guwahati. Social Indicators Research, 88, 297–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devuyst, D. (2001). Introduction to sustainability assessment at the local level. In D. Devuyst, L. Hens, & W. De Lannoy (Eds.), How green is the City? Sustainability assessment and the management of urban environments. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz-Balteiro, L., & Romero, C. (2004). Sustainability of forest management plans: A discrete goal programming approach. Journal of Environmental Management, 71, 351–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duranton, G., & Puga, D. (2004). Micro-foundations of urban agglomeration economies, National Bureau of economic research working papers, 9931.

  • ESPON. (2003). The role, specific situation and potentials of urban areas as nodes in a polycentric development. Third interim report. Luxembourg: ESPON.

    Google Scholar 

  • ESPON. (2014). Town. Small and medium sized towns in their functional territorial context. ESPON: Luxembourg.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2007). State of European cities report. Adding value to the European Urban Audit. Brussels: European Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2011). Cities of tomorrow. Challenges. visions. ways forward. Brussels: Directorate General for Regional Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Environment Agency. (2011). Air quality e-Reporting. Available online: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/aqereporting-8.

  • Eurostat. (2011). Urban audit. Available online: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database.

  • Findlay, A., Morris, A., & Rogerson, R. (1988). Where to live in Britain in 1988? Cities, 5, 268–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R. (2005). Cities and the creative class. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, M., & Thisse, J. F. (1996). Economics of agglomeration. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, 10, 339–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giffinger, R., Fertner, C., Kramar, H., & Meijers, E. (2007). City-ranking of European medium-sized cities. Vienna: Centre for Regional Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E. L., Kolko, J., & Saiz, A. (2001). Consumer city. Journal of Economic Geography, 1, 27–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E. L., & Mare, D. C. (2001). Cities and skills. Journal of Labor Economics, 19(2), 316–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E. L., Ressenger, M., & Tobio, K. (2008). Urban inequality. (NBER working paper series, 14419, National Bureau of Economic Research).

  • Glaeser, E. L., & Sacerdote, B. (1999). Why is there more crime in cities? Journal of Political Economy, 107(S6), S225–S258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godschalk, D. R. (2004). Land use planning challenges: Coping with conflicts in visions of sustainable development and livable communities. Journal of the American Planning Association, 70, 5–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González, E., Cárcaba, A., & Ventura, J. (2011). The importance of the geographic level of analysis in the assessment of the quality of life: The case of Spain. Social Indicators Research, 102(2), 209–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González, E., Cárcaba, A., & Ventura, J. (2016). Weight constrained DEA measurement of the quality of life in Spanish municipalities in 2011. Social Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1426-y.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, P. (1994). Amenities as economic development tools: Is there enough evidence? Economic Development Quarterly, 8, 1413–1436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gough, M. Z. (2015). Reconciling livability and sustainability: Conceptual and practical implications for planning. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 35(2), 145–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, P., & Campanera, J. M. (2011). (Sustainable) quality of life in English city locations. Cities, 28, 290–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huggins, R. (2009). Regional competitive intelligence: Benchmarking and policy making. Regional Studies, 44(5), 539–658.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, P., Bellamy, J., & Black, A. (1999). Social trust: Locally and across Australia. Third Sector Review, 5, 5–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ignizio, J. P. (1976). Goal programming and extensions. Lexington: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitchin, R., Lauriault, T. P., & McArdle, G. (2015). Knowing and governing cities through urban indicators, city benchmarking and real-time dashboards. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 2(1), 6–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P. (1996). Urban concentration: The role of increasing returns and transport costs. International Regional Science Review, 19(1–2), 5–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lambiri, D., Biagi, B., & Royuela, V. (2007). Quality of life in the economic and urban economic literature. Social Indicators Research, 84, 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S. M. (1972). Goal programming for decision analysis. Philladelphia: Auerbach.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, B.-C. (1976). Quality of life indicators in U.S. metropolitan areas. A statistical analysis. Praeger Publishers: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, K., Fullagar, S., & Reid, S. (2016). Where is the “social” in constructions of liveability? Exploring community, social interactions and social cohesion in changing urban environments. Urban Policy and Research, 34(4), 343–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luque-Martínez, T., & Muñoz-Leiva, F. (2005). City benchmarking: A methodological proposal referring specifically to Granada. Cities, 22(6), 411–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marans, R. W. (2003). Understanding environmental quality through quality of life studies: The 2001 DAS and its use of subjective and objective indicators. Landscape and Urban Planning, 65(1–2), 73–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marans, R. W. (2015). Quality of urban life & environmental sustainable studies: Future linkage opportunities. Habitat International, 45, 47–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martín, J. C., & Mendoza, C. (2013). A DEA approach to measure the quality of life in the municipalities of the Canary Islands. Social Indicators Research, 113, 335–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medcalfe, S. (2017). Economic well-being in U.S. metropolitan statistical areas. Social Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-017-1755-5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meijering, J. V., Kern, K., & Tobi, H. (2014). Identifying the methodological characteristics of European green city rankings. Ecological Indicators, 43, 132–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. (2011). Bibliotecas Públicas Españolas en Cifras. Available online: http://www.mecd.gob.es/cultura/areas/bibliotecas/mc/ebp/portada.html.

  • Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality. (2011). Catálogo Nacional de Hospitales. Available online: https://www.msssi.gob.es/estadisticas/microdatos.do.

  • Ministry of Home Affairs. (2013). Balance de criminalidad. Available online: http://www.interior.gob.es/documents/10180/1643559/informe+balance+anual+2014.pdf/03808281-eb26-4ba6-a47b-71e2c5e5dc30.

  • Ministry of Public Works and Transport. (2009). Sistema de Información Urbana. Available online: http://visorsiu.fomento.es/geonetwork/srv/es/main.home.

  • Morais, P., & Camanho, A. S. (2011). Evaluation of performance of European cities with the aim to promote quality of life improvements. Omega, 39, 398–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morais, P., Miguéis, V. L., & Camanho, A. S. (2013). Quality of life experienced by human capital: An assessment of European cities. Social Indicators Research, 110(1), 187–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mori, K., Fujii, T., Yamashita, T., Mimura, Y., Uchiyama, Y., & Hayashi, K. (2015). Visualization of a City Sustainability Index (CSI): Towards transdisciplinary approaches involving multiple stakeholders. Sustainability, 7, 402–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nardo, M., Saisana, M., Saltelli, A., Tarantola, S., Hoffman, A., & Giovannini, E. (2008). Handbook on constructing composite indicators: Methodology and user guide. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, J. M., & Artal, A. (2015). Foot voting in Spain: What do internal migrations say about quality of life in the Spanish municipalities. Social Indicators Research, 124, 501–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newton, P. W. (2012). Liveable and sustainable? Socio-technical challenges for twenty-first-century cities. Journal of Urban Technology, 19(1), 81–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nissi, E., & Sarra, A. (2016). A measure of well-being across the Italian urban areas: An integrated DEA-entropy approach. Social Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1535-7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peach, N. D., & Petach, L. A. (2016). Development and quality of life in cities. Economic Development Quarterly, 30(1), 32–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reig, E. (2016). Ciudades y calidad de vida en el área metropolitana de Valencia. Revista de Estudios Regionales, 106, 79–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roback, J. (1982). Wages, rents, and the quality of life. The Journal of Political Economy, 90(6), 1257–1278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogerson, R. J. (1995). Environmental and health-related quality of life: Conceptual and methodological similarities. Social Science and Medicine, 41(10), 1373–1982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogerson, R. J. (1999). Quality of life and city competitiveness. Urban Studies, 36(5–6), 969–985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, S. (1974). Hedonic prices and implicit markets: Product differentiation in pure competition. The Journal of Political Economy, 82(1), 34–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Royuela, V., Suriñach, J., & Reyes, M. (2003). Measuring quality of life in small areas over different periods of time. Social Indicators Research, 64(1), 51–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saitluanga, B. L. (2014). Spacial pattern of urban livability in Himalayan region: A case of Aizawl City, India. Social Indicators Research, 117, 541–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, L. D., & Martins, I. (2007). Monitoring urban quality of life: The Porto experience. Social Indicators Research, 80, 411–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shafer, C. S., Lee, B. K., & Turner, S. (2000). A tale of three greenway trails: User perceptions related to quality of life. Landscape and Urban Planning, 49(3), 163–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, S. K. (1989). Municipal management. Urban Affairs Quarterly-India, 21, 47–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spanish Statistical Institute. (2011a). Urban indicators. Available online: http://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/categoria.htm?c=Estadistica_P&cid=1254735976606.

  • Spanish Statistical Institute. (2011b). Population figures and demographic censuses. Available online: http://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/categoria.htm?c=Estadistica_P&cid=1254734710984.

  • Tanguay, G. A., Rajaonson, J., Lefebvre, J.-F., & Lanoie, P. (2010). Measuring the sustainability of cities: An analysis of the use of local indicators. Ecological Indicators, 10, 407–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turcu, C. (2013). Re-thinking sustainability indicators: Local perspectives of urban sustainability. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 56(5), 695–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Türksever, A. N. E., & Atalik, G. (2001). Possibilities and limitations for the measurement of the quality of life in urban areas. Social Indicators Research, 53, 163–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ülengin, B., Ülengin, F., & Güvenç, Ü. (2001). A multidimensional approach to urban quality of life: The case of Istanbul. European Journal of Operational Research, 130(2), 361–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN-Habitat. (2008). State of the world´s cities 2008-2009: harmonious cities. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Kamp, I., Leidelmeijer, K., Marsman, G., & de Hollander, A. (2003). Urban environmental quality and human well-being. Towards a conceptual framework and demarcation of concepts; a literature study. Landscape and Urban Planning, 65, 5–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (2000). The four qualities of life. Ordering concepts and measures of the good life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1, 1–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werna, E. (1995). The management of urban development, or the development of urban management? Problems and premises of an elusive concept. Cities, 12(5), 353–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, S. M. (2000). Planning for metropolitan sustainability. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 20, 133–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, C. (2005). Cities, skills and inequality. Growth and Change, 36(3), 329–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, S. M. (2013). Planning for sustainability. Creating livable, equitable and ecological communities. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Zanella, A., Camanho, A. S., & Dias, T. G. (2015). The assessment of cities´ livability integrating human wellbeing and environmental impact. Annals of Operations Research, 226, 695–726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziersch, A. M., Baum, F., Darmawan, I. G. N., Kavanagh, A. M., & Bentley, R. J. (2009). Social capital and health in rural and urban communities in South Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 33(1), 7–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Quantitative Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Santiago de Compostela, Avda. do Burgo das Nacións s/n, 15782, Santiago, Spain

    Beatriz Valcárcel-Aguiar

  2. Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Santiago de Compostela, Avda. do Burgo das Nacións s/n, 15782, Santiago, Spain

    Pilar Murias

Authors
  1. Beatriz Valcárcel-Aguiar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pilar Murias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Beatriz Valcárcel-Aguiar.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Valcárcel-Aguiar, B., Murias, P. Evaluation and Management of Urban Liveability: A Goal Programming Based Composite Indicator. Soc Indic Res 142, 689–712 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-1861-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-1861-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation