It is possible to find any number of definitions of quality of life. The World Health Organization, for example, defines the quality of life as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and about their goals, expectations, standards and concerns“. What is more important to note, however, than any one definition, is that quality of life is an amorphous and evolving concept.
The Quality of Life Initiative is taking a broad, consultative approach to understanding how individuals and organizations across the globe and various disciplines conceptualize quality of life. There is an understanding in this Initiative that no one-size-fits-all definition of quality of life is possible. Rather, the Initiative takes an inclusive approach to look at how quality of life can be improved based on the context, values, and shared experiences of different communities.
Any index is a set of indicators or metrics combined to produce one single value that measures a specific phenomenon.
When we talk about a Quality of Life Index, this measurement can be based on the things that money can buy such as traditional economic goods (food, shelter, clothing, transportation, entertainment) or less tangible goods (climate, fresh air, clean water, safe neighborhoods, good schools, etc.). These indicators and metrics are combined using statistical methods to produce a single value that measures a specific phenomenon, like ‘safety’, ‘civic engagement’, or ‘life satisfaction’, to provide a few examples.
Indeed, quality of life has been a topic of interest for many years now. However, the concept has evolved, as purely objective measurements such as GDP per capita made room for more subjective conceptions of quality of life.
There remain, however, some important gaps in the conceptualization and measurement of quality of life, which have been laid even more bare in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Quality of Life Initiative aims to refine this conceptualization and measurement to 1) provide a decision support tool for local leaders so that they can more concretely link their interventions to improvements in quality of life; 2) provide a more nuanced and holistic understanding of the quality of life, based on subjective experience against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world; 3) provide an index which is sensitive and accountable to future system shocks like pandemics, climate change, and other phenomena; 4) establish solid linkages to existing international processes like the SDGs, connecting global goals with local values.
Objective measures refer to those that are observable and quantifiable, such as income, life expectancy, and education level, whereas subjective measures refer to those that are based on one’s evaluation of a situation, such as life satisfaction or perceived level of safety.
As mentioned above, a rapidly changing world has altered the conception of quality of life for many people. A purely objective set of measurements is not sufficient to capture the qualitative, perceived experiences of individuals. An innovative approach is needed to encompass a fuller measurement of quality of life.
It is true that by its very nature, data on subjective measurements of quality of life is harder to come by. There are, however, several techniques that have been used in the past and others that this project hopes to pioneer.
Local leaders are constantly faced with difficult decisions about how to improve the places we live, work, and play. The Quality of Life Index is being designed in close consultation with city representatives and others who will be the end users and beneficiaries of the knowledge that is developed. They will help to craft a human-centric index that brings in the subjective and contextual elements that so many communities experience in different ways in a rapidly changing world.
The goal is to go beyond a dashboard, to become a real decision-support tool. Local leaders will be able to zoom in on those issues that are most affecting their community and design targeted interventions to respond.
This index is being designed to track changes in quality of life indicators at several levels: global, regional, national, and local. As the scope becomes more and more specific, the index relies increasingly on the participation of local governments to provide up-to-date and relevant data to that specific context. In doing so, we can have a flexible index that can examine global trends while considering different realities on the ground.
This does not discount rural areas as the distinction between urban and rural is not definitive and they often merge into one another. This means that interventions that are urban in nature (access to public services and provision of infrastructure) tend to have spillover effects that benefit all. Moreover, the Index has been designed to be flexible and can be applied at the urban, rural, or even neighborhood level, depending on data availability.
The Index will derive strength and legitimacy by connecting with and building upon existing, established frameworks. The Index will strategically map on to UN-HABITAT’s Global Urban Monitoring Framework (UMF), which recommends a set of indicators to measure the achievement of SDG 11 (safe, inclusive, resilient & sustainable cities).
As a decision support tool aligned with the UMF, the Quality of Life Index will allow cities, towns, and neighborhoods to link the results of local interventions to progress at the global level of the SDGs.
While indices are frequently used to rank or compare different places, this is not always appropriate due to fundamental differences in the areas being compared. Norway, for example, may have little in common with Namibia when it comes to relevant quality of life metrics. A better option for indices is to use them to monitor the same place over time. This provides both citizens and local leaders with the ability to see 1) how they are progressing or regressing over time, and 2) based on this, identify priority areas for intervention.
The Quality of Life Index is an adaptation of the UMF. It uses the same basic 4X5 matrix of urban attributes (such as a safe society, or sustainable economy) but a different set of metrics for local, national, regional, and global quality of life. If quality of life is the defining theme for a city or town’s strategic goals, then the Quality of Life Index may be the most suitable tool to use for monitoring progress.