Urban Planning in the Service of the Quality of Life of Citizens

Abstract

With deep roots in the ancient Greek philosophy, the issue of well-being and quality of life (qol) has been steadily in the focal point of the modern philosophical thought since the 18th century. The improvement of qol, regardless the definition of the term, is considered to be a natural tendency of humankind, and a standard pursuit for human beings. Thus, what finally defines the level of the qol in a society is the adequacy of the living conditions. In this view, urban planning plays a critical role in the configuration of the collective level of the qol, since it interferes in the very core of the living conditions of people, which it actually targets with its actions. In fact, cities constitute the scene of everyday life for the 75% of the global population, shaping the environment for living. Thus, the effect of the city in the living conditions of citizens is something obvious. The form, the structure and the complex functions of the city determine significantly human functions as well: they determine the space and time of citizens with direct impacts on labor, health, rhythms of urban life (fast or slow), ‘discretionary’ time, leisure and interpersonal relations of citizens. For all the previous reasons, the improvement of the quality of urban life (qoul) can always be found among the targets or objectives of most urban planning projects, regardless the scale. From mega projects, which are considered to contribute to the competitiveness of cities, to minor regeneration projects, the amelioration of the qoul is always present as a causative factor. However, urban planning interventions often fail to succeed in this objective and sometimes even undermine (involuntary) the qoul. This ‘heretic’ induction is reflected on the environmental, socio-economic and structural problems of modern cities which (especially in Greece) usually tend to be attributed to the inadequacy, or even lack, of urban planning. However, they are often derived from wrong, or out of date, planning decisions endangering the sustainability of cities. This happens partly because the qol in general, and the qoul in particular, remain undefined terms – in spite of their continuous invocation – and the relation of the urban parameters to the qoul determinants is still confusing. And yet, qoul can only be defined on the basis of its determining factors, while referring to the living standards of all people, including the less favored citizens. In this paper, the main determinants of the qoul will be analysed, highlighting those factors which can be affected – or even configured – by urban planning. The empowerment, or the undermining, of the qoul determinants through time by urban planning initiatives will be discussed, with an emphasis on the contemporary era. Finally, urban policies contributing to the improvement of the qol of citizens will be proposed.