Quality of Life in Relation to Urban Areasand Sustainability. Application Case: City of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Abstract

This chapter deals with theoretical-conceptual and instrumental aspects that relate the fundamental dimensions of the quality of life within the framework of the urban area and its sustainability degree. Regarding the concept of quality of life, is a complex construct in which individual and collective feelings intervene that end up forming a welfare state in which they interact in a reciprocal way. We consider it pertinent to focus on the collective dimension of quality of life, since the city intervene in resolving this situation. Its conceptualization and valuation allow us to dimension in some way the “quality of life levels” within the same urban pattern, as well as its consequences on the territory. Regarding the aspects of sustainability, the city in relation to its scales in general requires an intensive demand for resources, which is permanently unbalancing this relationship. To understand and to assess the quality of life in the urban environment, we have proposed a flexible. With this logic we have been able to propose convergent solutions integrating objective and subjective aspects, as well as qualitative and quantitative of the different urban variables that intervene in the quality of collective life. For its instrumentation we analyzed the city of La Plata, Argentina, of intermediate scale (750,000 inhabitants). The model analyzes the urban quality of life considering two main dimensions: (i) Urban Services and Equipment; (ii) Urban Environmental Aspects. From the perspective of sustainability, urban environmental aspects are included, where the habitual pathologies consistent with the dynamics of the city are evaluated, taking into account the magnitude of the impacts (QUA), its area of influence (Ai) and the degree of perception held by the affected inhabitants (Per.). The work considers the interactions between the urban aspects mentioned and their dimensions. The results are shown through maps oriented to territorialize and define the state of basic needs, and trends in terms of quality of life based on the evaluation and integration of different aspects.