Urban quality of life in the scientific literature: approaches, indicators, and scales of analysis (2000-2025)
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Abstract
The cultural, economic, and political changes that have transformed urban systems because of accelerated urban growth have led to growing social and territorial inequalities and asymmetries. The objective of this paper is to identify and analyze the approaches and indicators used in the scientific literature to measure Urban Quality of Life (UQL). To this end, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following PRISMA principles in four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and SciELO), using free search terms and Boolean operators in Spanish and English, considering open access articles published between 2000 and 2025. The quality and relevance of the selected articles were assessed using the method proposed by Gough (2007). The results show that 35 % of the articles analyzed use both objective and subjective indicators; 42 % include only objective indicators; 8 % include only subjective indicators; and the remaining 15 % do not use traditional indicators (comprising theoretical reflections and spatial or qualitative analyses). Furthermore, 92 % of the sample corresponds to empirical articles and 8% to theoretical reflection. It is concluded that, in order to achieve cities with better quality of life, it is necessary to identify dimensions and indicators, as well as to design and implement public policies that include a comprehensive assessment of UQL.
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