2024’s Leading Cities for Quality of Life

What are three key factors that contribute to a high quality of life in urban areas?

Because quality of life should be for all people, I would rate the most important factor as housing costs relative to wages. Because I value urbanism, a second factor would be the walkability and density of restaurants, shops, and services. A city’s walk score or transit score captures this pretty well. Third, parks and trails are essential to a high quality of life. I grew up in Minneapolis and all of my Minneapolis friends would agree that the park and parkway system was what made Minneapolis a great place to live.

How do environmental factors, such as air quality and green spaces, influence the quality of life in a city?

Once a society achieves relative safety and a comfortable standard of living, a clean environment and access to natural areas become two of the most desired characteristics of a good place to live. We live in an era when large numbers of well-paid workers are employed in the knowledge economy and can live wherever they want to. Quality of life and especially environmental quality and outdoor recreation opportunities, then, become major factors in the choice of where to live.

What are three ways urban planning and infrastructure impact residents’ quality of life?

Parks and infrastructure decisions shape urban life for centuries to come. Minneapolis is a beneficiary of an 1883 recommendation by planner H.W.S. Cleveland to create a system of linked parks and parkways. Chicago residents benefit from urban planner Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago which called for a continuous park along the Lake Michigan waterfront. Today, cities across the United States are trying to figure out how to undo the damage wrought by building interstate highways through inner-city communities in the 1950s and 1960s.

How do economic variables like employment rates and cost of living affect the overall quality of life in different cities?

When considering the quality of urban areas, we need to ask “high quality of life for whom?” Urban areas that offer a high quality of life for affluent households might be out of reach for average earners. Or an urban area might offer a great quality of life for singles and double income no kids couples (DINKS) but cities need to emphasize the quality of life for families raising the next generation of children. When we map domestic moves within the United States, we can see the push factors of high housing costs and high taxes and the pull factor of strong employment opportunities.

What role do educational opportunities and institutions play in determining the quality of life in a city?

The presence of a local research university is a strong predictor of regional success in today’s information economy. The economic and demographic turnaround of a city like Pittsburgh is inconceivable apart from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. But even regional universities and liberal arts colleges can contribute a great deal to quality of life when communities partner with universities and make themselves attractive so that university graduates choose to stay when they start their careers.

What are three key factors that contribute to a high quality of life in urban areas?

Urban neighborhoods that consistently delight and serve their residents well, tend to share these characteristics:

1. People-friendly streets: Narrow, tree-lined, quiet, car-free or car-light streets
2. Density: Enough residents and workers within a half-dozen to a dozen blocks to support key businesses and amenities, like bakeries, doctor’s offices, day-care, coffee shops, a public library, etc.
3. Public space: Shared areas that offer gathering places, social activities, nature, and athletics.

How do environmental factors, such as air quality and green spaces, influence the quality of life in a city?

People like being in places that are quiet, safe, and pleasant. In cities, that mostly means keeping cars out, since they are the main sources of noise, air pollution, and physical danger. Less space devoted to highways, wide streets and parking also means more room for shared green space.

In the U.S., urban green space outside of stand-alone parks usually consists of strips of sterile set-backs or postage-stamp yards. Anyone who’s traveled abroad has seen a more attractive alternative. Picture a block lined with multi-family apartments, each unit on a single floor where the living room looks out over the street, while the bedrooms in the back open onto a shared courtyard for the whole block. Plenty of room to combine amenities: restaurant patio, playground, community garden, picnic area, clotheslines, and just some shaded green space to relax in.

What are three ways urban planning and infrastructure impact residents’ quality of life?

A well-functioning community with a consistent built environment won’t happen if every property owner is making completely independent decisions. Planning and some basic rules are needed to make streets work for everyone, to get enough density for a walkable neighborhood to be largely self-sufficient, or to combine available green space into communal areas that serve multiple needs (not just private lawns).

Less visible infrastructure also matters, often under the street: district-energy systems that reduce everyone’s energy cost and environmental footprint, separated stormwater and sewer pipes for water and energy recovery; or high-bandwidth internet “pipes” consistently available in every part of town.

How do economic variables like employment rates and cost of living affect the overall quality of life in different cities?

This question is actually slightly backwards. The built form of the city has a huge influence on access to jobs and on the cost of housing and transportation. A low-density urban area that is entirely dependent on cars and highways will be congested and disconnected. People with cars will suffer from long commutes and the high cost of vehicle ownership; people without cars, because they can’t afford them or physically can’t drive them, will suffer from reduced employment opportunities and lack of community support. Plus separated dwellings are the most expensive kind of housing.

In other words, cities with dense, walkable, car-light and transit-rich neighborhoods (which already offer a high quality of life for their residents and workers) will also lead to lower costs of living and higher employment.

What role do educational opportunities and institutions play in determining the quality of life in a city?

The public schools are the foundation for any community’s ultimate success. Good quality schools with enough resources and with diverse students and educational offerings mean families will want to stay in a neighborhood for the long term, kids will get to form life-long bonds with the neighborhood and with each other, and employees and community members will have the skills to succeed and prosper and to participate in community institutions.

College campuses can also integrate successfully into the urban fabric and provide an economic and cultural engine for the broader community, as long as they’re not walled off islands that physically separate a neighborhood. In fact, some college campuses are idyllic models of good neighborhoods: everything you need is within easy walking distance, with lots of shared green space and community resources.

How do access to healthcare and public health services contribute to the quality of life in urban populations?

I’m not an expert on public health. But I am writing this in the midst of a nasty heat wave, deadlier than a major hurricane. So here’s an important health benefit that cities offer to everyone: people who live in cities have a small fraction of the carbon footprint of people who live in low-density suburbs and exurbs. As the climate crisis deepens, we’re going to see ever-worsening public health impacts. Well-designed cities can play a crucial role in creating a low-carbon future.

What are three key factors that contribute to a high quality of life in urban areas?

Equality of opportunity, equal access to services, and the ability to affect change. All residents should have the ability to succeed and thrive in an urban area, economically and otherwise. Residents are entitled to receive services on an equal basis regardless of their demographic characteristics or where they live, and cities with high quality of life embrace this as a core duty. Finally, if residents feel that they have the capacity to bring about positive change in the direction of their city, they will perceive it as a healthy measure of their quality of life.

How do environmental factors, such as air quality and green spaces, influence the quality of life in a city?

Environmental factors have direct implications for people’s health and the quality of life in a city. For example, cities with high levels of lead in water, air, or paint adversely impact the health of their children, with reduced cognitive abilities, lack of impulse control, and severe health issues among the detrimental effects that have been documented in health research. Diminished air quality has also been found to lead to high levels of asthma and other pulmonary impairments. Cities that do not provide greenspaces for residents on an equal basis deprive them of the opportunity to enjoy natural settings that reduce stress, improve health, and absorb pollutants from urban life.

What are three ways urban planning and infrastructure impact residents’ quality of life?

Urban planning and infrastructure can not only impact the quality of life of residents but they can be oriented toward providing the highest quality of life for residents. First, urban planning should provide a sufficient and equitable amount of green space that meets the needs of residents for respite from the built environment while reducing air and water pollution. Second, cities should be built around public transportation options, rather than personal auto use, to increase safety, allow for walkable use of the cityscape, and reduce pollution. Third, new housing should be built near public transit to encourage residents to forego auto use within the city.

How do economic variables like employment rates and cost of living affect the overall quality of life in different cities?

When cities have viable economies with the opportunity for entering the workforce and for advancement on an equitable basis, residents feel as if they are included in the life of the city in a way that persistently high levels of unemployment do not. Similarly, if the cost of living is affordable for the area, it allows for employment flexibility and opportunities for upward mobility.

What role do educational opportunities and institutions play in determining the quality of life in a city?

Educational opportunities and institutions play a vital role in ensuring an educated workforce for a city. An educated citizenry can understand how to advocate for the quality of life they desire in the public and private sectors. A strong public education sector that leads to a variety of opportunities for higher education will contribute to a quality of life that is dynamic and vibrant for residents of an urban area.

How do access to healthcare and public health services contribute to the quality of life in urban populations?

Healthcare and high-quality public health services are critical to how people experience their quality of life in urban areas. Health challenges are inevitable and the ability of facilities in an area to address them equitably removes a major stressor from the lives of citizens, one that significantly impacts upon quality of life. Urban areas where residents can access both basic and specialized care allow residents to deal with the consistent and ongoing maintenance of their health as well as any extraordinary events in a way that prioritizes their well-being and their participation in city life.