IN-PERSON: Livable Cities – New York
Abstract
We analyze the links between urban quality of life and sustainability in 171 Canadian cities with populations of 20,000 or more. To do this, we study the relationship between a quality of life index, based on the ranking of Canadian cities by MoneySense, and a set of urban sustainability indicators/indexes. We test various statistical hypotheses by distinguishing cases where the quality of life index is an explanatory variable from those where it is dependent on sustainability indicators. Our results show a partial positive correlation between the quality of life index and urban sustainability. The best-ranked cities in terms of quality of life are often those where waste generated, car use rate, and income gap are the highest. In addition, those with low unemployment and crime rates, as well as higher employment incomes, tend to obtain high quality of life scores. We argue that governments must aim for sustainable development by considering that it will positively influence the quality of life (and not the reverse). Acting on the quality of life alone is insufficient because a better quality of life can harm sustainable development objectives.
Georges A. Tanguay is Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Tourism at the School of Management of the University of Quebec at Montreal. He is specialized in sustainable development, sustainability assessment tools, transportation and public economics. He is an internationally known researcher for his work on sustainable development indicators. His research has been published in journals such as Ecological Indicators, Environment and Planning A, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Urban Studies Journal of Urban Affairs, Public Choice and Research in Transportation Economics.
Juste Rajaonson is a geographer and professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Tourism at the University of Quebec in Montreal. His current research interests lie at the intersection of public policy evaluation and urban sustainability in Canada. Formerly, Juste served on the Government of Canada Deputy Ministers’ Task Force on Innovation at the Privy Council Office. His research has been published in journals such as Ecological Indicators, Social Indicators Research, and Journal of Sustainable Tourism.
Pier-Karl Bilodeau is a graduate student completing his Masters in urban studies at the University of Quebec in Montreal. His thesis focuses on the use of indicators in sustainability assessment of large cities in Canada.
3:15 pm - 4:45 pm
Thursday 15th June, 2023