Handbook of Quality of Life and Sustainability

This handbook provides the latest research related to quality of life and sustainability, taking into account social, economic, environmental, and political/governance aspects as well as specific socio-spatial contexts. The volume includes contributions from established and upcoming scholars from various disciplines and geographical contexts (Global South and North). The varying cultural and socio-spatial contexts of the authors in the selected cases contribute to first-hand knowledge on the realities of sustainability issues affecting the quality of life. The authors apply a wide diversity of methods and tools, which facilitates a unique understanding of the interlinkages between quality of life and sustainability. The chapters are grouped in three main sections: concepts and foundations; tools, techniques, and applications; and innovations. The authors provide their own view and theoretical approximation of the dimensions of sustainability, in particular on how these dimensions play out in relation to quality of life. The combination of sustainability and quality of life concepts and perspectives is particularly important in unravelling the multi-faceted nature of human, urban, rural/spatial development. 

“Twenty-six studies, different in their approaches, methodologies, and locations, provide evidence for the multi-dimensionality of the quality of life concept starting from very basic biological needs, such as land, water, and sanitation, as well as psychological needs such as the feeling of safety, culminating in modern notions such as smart cities. … An excellent example of mixed method research … . In the context of climate change, this valuable collection offers clever local solutions to a global problem.” (Ágnes Sántha, Acta Universitaties Sapientiae Social Analysis, Issue 11, 2021)

Javier Martinez is Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management within the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, the Netherlands. He is also coordinator of the Urban Planning and Management specialization of the two-year master’s degree in geo-information science and earth observation. He graduated as an architect from the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Design of Rosario National University (UNR), Argentina, and earned his MSc in Geo-Information for Urban Planning from ITC. He earned his PhD from the Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, for his thesis Monitoring Intra-Urban Inequalities with GIS-Based Indicators: With a Case Study in Rosario, Argentina. Between 1999 and 2001, he worked in Argentina in the Office of Strategic Planning in Rosario (PER) designing its Urban Indicators System. His research, publications and teaching experience are focused on the application of GIS, mixed methods and indicators for policymaking, urban poverty and quality-of-life and intra-urban inequalities. From 2010 up until November 2014, he was Co-Coordinator of the Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanization in the South (N-AERUS). Since 2017, he has been a member of the board of directors of the International Society of Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS).

Claudia Mikkelsen is Research Associate of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Argentina. She did her post-doctoral Studies in the Quality of Life Program at the National University of Lomas de Zamora. She is Co-director of Population and Territory Studies Group (GESPyT), Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (INHUS), CONICET, Faculty of Humanities. National University of Mar del Plata, Member of Geographical Research Center (CIG), and Faculty of Human Sciences, National University of the Center. She is also Invited Professor at the Master of Social Sciences at the University of Palermo (2018-2020), and Member, International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCIWEB), Argentina.

Rhonda Phillips focuses research and outreach efforts on quality of life and well-being related to community and economic development. At Purdue, she serves as Dean of the Honors College, and a Professor in the Agricultural Economics Department. Rhonda is author or editor of 30 books, including Sustainable Communities, Creating a Durable Local Economy; Community Development Indicators Measuring Systems; and Introduction to Community Development. She is editor of the Springer book series Community Quality of Life and Well-Being. Formerly a Senior Sustainability Scientist with the Global Institute of Sustainability, Rhonda served as director and professor in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University, and founding director of the University of Florida’s Center for Building Better Communities. She is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP). She is past President of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies and a co-researcher with the Community Wellbeing Institute, a Social Science Korea Project.