The Built Environment and Human Wellbeing –
a Geographical Perspective
Professor Michael Pacione MA PhD DSc
Department of Geography
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow
UK
Key Points
• Which area of Geography is concerned with research into the built
environment and human wellbeing?
• How does research on urban quality of life/wellbeing fit into
Geography?
• What is distinctive about a Geographical approach to the subject?
• A five-dimensional model for quality of life research in Geography
• Case studies to exemplify the Geographical approach
• Recommendations for research leading to an enhanced built
environment and improved wellbeing
Urban Geography
“THE STUDY OF CITIES AS SYSTEMS WITHIN
SYSTEMS OF CITIES”
• Study of ‘systems of cities’ – focuses on the inter-urban
scale and examines the spatial distribution of towns and
cities and linkages between them.
• Study of ‘cities as systems’ – focuses on the internal
structure of urban places.
THE DISCIPLINE
OF GEOGRAPHY
PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
ENVIRONMENTAL
GEOGRAPHY
HUMAN
GEOGRAPHY
URBAN
GEOGRAPHY
SOCIAL
ECONOMIC
RURAL
GEOGRAPHY
POLITICAL
CULTURAL
QUALITY OF LIFE
RESEARCH
INTER-URBAN
STUDIES
INTRA-URBAN
STUDIES
SOCIO-SPATIAL VARIATION ALONG DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS
INCLUDING
HEALTH
WEALTH
EMPLOYMENT
HOUSING
CRIME
POWER
CITIZENSHIP
EDUCATION
TERRITORIAL SOCIAL INDICATORS
THE QUALITY OF LIFE SPECTRUM
ENVIRONMENTS OF
ADVANTAGE
ENVIRONMENTS OF
DISADVANTAGE
MULTIPLE DEPRIVATION
RESIDENTIAL DISSATISFACTION
ENVIRONMENTAL DECAY
SOCIAL EXCLUSION
DANGEROUS PLACES
Conclusions
• The causes of contemporary urban problems are
multidimensional stemming from a host of private and public
agents, personal circumstances and environmental
conditions
•Attempts to address problems must also be multifaceted
operating at variety of scales and across all dimensions of
life quality
•Rather than a single meta-theory or model of wellbeing we
should think in terms of a hierarchy of approaches that
explore different components of life quality and identify
strategies appropriate to specific problems and socio-spatial
contexts
Conclusions
• Successful academic research alone is no longer
sufficient
• To ensure use of appropriate findings by decisionmakers researchers must seek to develop direct
channels of communication to link scientific findings to
policy objectives
Conclusions
• Urban issues cut across traditional academic boundaries
• Each social science can make an individual contribution
• A full understanding must be sought beyond the
confines of a single discipline
A multi-dimensional approach in which all
disciplines can contribute to the goal of creating
liveable cities for the twenty-first century