Quality of Life in Urban-Classified and Rural-Classified English Local Authority Areas

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4142268
AutoresJosep M Campanera (0000-0002-6698-874X, Departament de Fisicoquímica, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, autor correspondente), Paul Higgins (0000-0002-0578-3767, City University of Hong Kong, autor correspondente)
Ano2011
Volume43
Fascículo3
Páginas683-702
Data de publicação2011-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEnvironment and Planning A Economy and Space (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0308-518X • E-ISSN: 1472-3409
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1068/a43450
OpenAlexW2150903073
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas34

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the Audit Commission's local quality-of-life indicators dataset to compare reported outcomes amongst 208 urban-classified and 144 rural-classified English local authority areas. We contextualise the demarcation of the urban and rural by reference to the transformational politics of the previous Labour government and its establishment of the sustainable communities initiative, whose controversial 'place-based' revitalisation essence continues to shape local government policy. According to the collectivist sustainability interpretation of the 73 indicators analysed, our results reveal that not only do urban-classified English local authority areas register a significantly lower quality of life than their rural counterparts but that they are also subject to much greater statistical and spatial variation. In addition, we find that the community-related and economy-related indicators serve to distinguish the reported quality-of-life conditions of rural and urban localities most, whereas the scores for transport are uniquely superior for urban areas, especially London. In considering the policy implications of our results, we draw attention to Labour's much-trumpeted justice-based approach to sustainable development, and contemplate the viability of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's 'Big Society' endeavour

Audit · Business · Collectivism · Commission · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Individualism · Local government · Political science · Politics · Rural area · Sustainability · Law · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Public Administration · Urban Planning and Governance · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies · Accounting