Analyzing quality of life in the urban environment requires consideration of a myriad of factors, and EDN's Urban Environment Report (UER) considers sets of data that includes density and sprawl, transportation, income, education, housing and the cost of living, and safety and security.

Understanding urban quality of life issues also requires an appraisal of the quality and quantity housing, cost of living, and crime. We also examined data relating to whether the city population participates in voting and other democratic processes.

Resources

Transportation Equity Network
     http://www.transportationequity.org

Surface Transportation Policy Project
     http://www.transact.org

Smart Growth America
     http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org

SUNY Report: Quality of Life in the Nation’s Largest Cities and Suburbs: New and Continuing
Challenges for Improving Health and Well-Being
     http://www.downstate.edu

National Bureau of Economic Research Smart Cities: Quality of Life, Productivity, and the
Growth Effects of Human Capital
     http://www.nber.org/papers/W11615