Interest to Quality of Life

This project is part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund),

the Finnish Ministry of Environment and the partners.

PLUREL Conference, 18.-22.10.2010, Copenhagen, Petri Kahila, Nordregio

Planning Quality of Life in Urban-Rural Regions – Seven Approaches in

the Baltic Sea Region

Petri Kahila, Stefanie Lange & Peter SchmittNordregio

Managing the Urban Rural InterferenceCopenhagen 19-22 October 2010

Session topic: (7) Locally adapted strategies for rural-urban regions: from understanding of issues to finding of solutions




Interest to Quality of Life

• Motivated much research during last decades

• Taken a strong position on various policy agendas

• Inevitable connection to sustainability, equity and social cohesion

• People’s interest besides wealth to everyday environment became more important than wealth

• Twofold meaning of quality of life

1.Provided opportunities to meet human needs

2.Quality of life become “proper” goal of public policy




What is Quality of Life?

• Generally relates to overall well-being in society

• People’s possibilities to achieve their goals and to choose their ideal lifestyle

• Quality of life has three characteristics

1.QL is a micro concept, i.e. focuses on individual life situation and perception

2.QL is multi-faceted concept, i.e. comprises multiple life domains and relationships between them

3.QL is subjective concept, i.e. includes individual goals and orientations as objective perceptions are relatedto living conditions




Quality of Life in Planning

• There is a contradiction between macro-level and micro-level

• Requirement to pay closer attention to quality of life

• Managing quality of life in the frameworks of urban-rural interaction have been rather limited

• However, wide range of objectives and strategies include approaches to quality of life

• But, individual aspects tend to be drowned under broader headings




Quality of Life in Urban-Rural Interference

(II) Quality of life

(IV) Quality of life

UrbanRural

(I) Quality of life

(III) Quality of life

Individual preferences Individual preferences




Approach in the NEW BRIDGES-project

• Conceptualisation of the quality of life approach

• Positioning macro (planning) level and micro (individual) level

• Meaningful definitions and approaches of quality of life in various urban-rural contexts

• Progressive approaches to quality of life cannot be based on hierarchical policy initiatives

• If individuals and stakeholders involved regions are able to generate own approach to quality of life







Priority Challenges

• Long-term provision of private and public (commercial) services

• Provision of well-functioning public transport connecting urban-rural

• Improved management, integrated planning, cooperation and communication

• Conservation of natural and cultural landscape

• Social issues (e.g. Crime, alcohol)

• Better understanding of quality of life




Reasoning

• Declining population, especially in rural areas

• Increasing number of elderly (less mobile) people

• Decreasing provision of local services in rural areas

• Non-existing or ineffective (planning) structures and networks between city and surrounding areas

• Lack of awareness regarding social demands among authority members

• Lack of cooperation/communication with inhabitants on quality of life related issues




Responses

• Individual perspective included

• Cross sectoral involvement of local stakeholders

• New partnerships

• Implementation of Pilot Actions in the city-regions

• Integration into ongoing decision making processes and strategies




Discussion

• Common approaches to quality of life are lacking in urban-rural interference

• There is a need for a common management approach involving urban and rural areas

• Involvement phase confirm necessity to engage individual aspects and preferences

• Important is to distinguish lifestyle choices that actually enhance quality of life

• Process will not only create opportunities but also reduce contraints




THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Questions & Comments

Petri [email protected]

http://www.nordregio.sehttp://www.urbanrural.net

Documents

Interest to Quality of Life