EU searches for ways to measure the quality of life

Date: 10/04/1997

By Leyla Linton

QUALITY of life is much talked about, but defining what is meant by the phrase has never been easy.

Now, for the first time, the EU is preparing to consider the thorny issue of how to measure it at a seminar to be held in Barcelona next week.

Until now, there has been no effective way to compare the well-being of citizens in the Union's cities and regions. Economic statistics give some indication of the standard of living in different member states, but fail to take account of more intangible factors which affect daily life such as the provision of local amenities or the extent of traffic jams.

There is also a shortage of figures available at a local level.

Eurostat, the European Commission's Directorate-General for regional policy (DGXVI) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR) will take the first step towards creating a set of standardised indicators at their meeting in Barcelona from 14 to 16 April.

“There are certain statistics which have a very direct link with the quality of life, such as revenue or working conditions, but we need to go further and find ways of measuring how someone experiences their environment,” said Fausto Cardoso of Eurostat.

This is echoed by the CoR, whose president Pasqual Maragall argues it is “vital to establish comparisons between cities and regions in Europe and as such, be able to push forward social progress”.

But experts admit that the concept of 'quality of life' is hard to pin down.

Indicators could include not only those traditionally used, such as finance, tax, levels of education and crime, but also new ones such as how easy it is to park, how long it takes to get to work in the mornings and what leisure facilities and cultural activities are available.

The list is infinite and seminar participants will face a major task in trying to agree on a workable definition.

The city of Barcelona, of which Maragall is mayor, has already drawn up a set of indicators. These include how long firemen take to arrive at the scene of a fire, road traffic accident statistics and student-teacher ratios.

Supporters of such moves argue that one result of standardised quality of life indicators would be to promote a sense of competition between regions and cities which, in theory, would work in favour of their inhabitants.

It would also provide another way of assessing the impact and usefulness of EU funding, and cities and regions might be able to use the statistics to attract inward investment.

“Lots of companies have asked us for information on towns and until now the European response has been weak,” said Cardoso.

It is unlikely that one all-inclusive indicator could be created to represent the quality of life. A collection of relevant statistics is more likely, with Eurostat aiming to make best use of figures already available in the member states as it does not have the human or financial resources to start from scratch.

“It will be a work of synthesis ... in slow evolution,” said Cardoso.