Evaluation Methodology For Urban Quality Of Life For Solidaridad Ⅳ Neighborhood(Mexico)

The rapidly increasing rates of urbanization have improved people’s access to modern facilities and infrastructures.However,residents of low-income neighborhoods are still believed to experience an extent of physical,social or economic deprivation.The term Quality of Urban Life has been discussed recently in various studies as a response to these deprivations,since they occur in cities all over the world.Quality of Urban Life is not just a simple function of material wealth;QoUL reflects the level of satisfaction of the residents obtained through the analysis of a number of factors,including the socio-cultural,labor market pressures,economic development,environmental health and safety of a neighborhood.It is for these and many other reasons that QoUL is considered an important dimension for reducing inequalities between regions,societies,and classes,as well as a tool for sustaining urban and human development.Contrary to popular belief,Mexico is not a middle-class country.It is actually a country where 59.1%of the population falls into the low-class social hierarchy(35%underclass and 25%working poor).To understand the conditions of the low-class social hierarchy population,this research analyzes the low-income,formal neighborhood Solidaridad Etapa IV,located in the city of Hermosillo,Mexico.For feasibility reasons,this study does not cover all the aspects of QoUL.It focuses instead on three dimensions that are related with the level of satisfaction of life in a city:the physical,economic and social aspects.There are two central objectives in this research.One is the development of a tool that can provide a numeric value that represents the quality of life within a city through the analysis of relevant indicators and the use of a Quality of Urban Life Index(QoULI)methodology.The other is to apply said methodology through the use of semi-structured interviews and surveys in order to analyze the existing socio-spatial characteristics in the low-income neighborhoods and detect the areas that have an important deficit corresponding with the perceptions of the inhabitants of these impoverished neighborhoods,thereby obtaining an accurate value for the Quality of life of the interviewees.Currently,the information available on QoUL in Mexico is scattered and fragmented among the large number of government and private agencies that have partial data on the different dimensions analyzed.There is a tendency for each sector(water,health,transport,energy,etc.)to be managed by a different authority,consequently preventing the systematization of data for the elaboration of accurate diagnoses,making it impossible to formulate precise actions to overcome imbalances and inequalities.It is for this reason that this work aims to generate a methodology for the construction of a body of indicators that can be used for the measurement of the quality of life in the cities of Mexico by constructing a Quality of Urban Life Index(QoULI)and contributing to previous academic works in the field,most notably from QoUL studies done in Argentina by German Leva(2005).This research describes the formulation of the mathematical model that takes into account the urban services,environmental aspects,socio-cultural variables and opinions of the respondents to develop a Quality of Urban Life Index.The second part of the research is based on fieldwork conducted during the year 2017.As an observational,transversal,prospective and descriptive study,this research work is supported by quantitative and qualitative methods.It is backed by techniques associated with the analysis of secondary data of a socio-demographic nature.The secondary data was collected from the official census of population and living conditions done by the INEGI institute,from IMPLAN(Municipal Institute of Urban Planning),the CIDUE(Coordination of Infrastructure,Urban Development and Ecology)and SIDUR(Secretary of Infrastructure and Urban Development),which are official institutions that regulate the urban planning in the city of Hermosillo.Other materials collected are derived from non-participant observation,in conjunction with data from a survey and 40 face-to-face semi-structured interviews to residents of the Solidaridad Etapa Ⅳ neighborhood that were older than 18 years old.The survey was based on a previous questionnaire developed in 2014 by the department of Social Work from the University of Sonora.According to the results of the semi-structured interviews,the study shows that,subjectively speaking,the residents of Solidaridad Etapa Ⅳ are dissatisfied with public security,lack of public lighting infrastructure,and the inadequacy of their income to cope with every-day expenses.There is also a positive correlation between the perception of these three factors and the score that the participants gave to their quality of their life and their environment.The assessment and the evaluations of the quality of urban life in these neighborhoods is relevant,as it reveals that low-income neighborhoods are dissatisfied with life due to their limited entitlements to household services and infrastructure,economic opportunities,and social fragmentation.The investigation may be of great importance for the empowerment of the studied settlements,since being aware of their vulnerabilities and perceptions could push the participants into acting towards finding sound solutions.Furthermore,this study could potentially influence public policy,as local authorities,policymakers or other parties involved in urban landscape management can use them when formulating sustainable housing policies.For example,the current local administration has implemented plans for paving the main streets and maintaining a center for the treatment of domestic violence,which are in agreement with the needs of the neighborhood.However,the assessment highlights discrepancies between the issues managed by the authorities and the actual needs of the population.Having a well-defined Quality of Urban Life Index not only allows a comprehensive analysis of the current status of a neighborhood or city,it may also be used as a point of reference when compared to other cities and as a way to check the progress made towards improving the quality of life.It may also be used as a platform for identification of areas where further and more specific studies should be conducted.