Abstract
Quality of Life has become an issue of urban research due to a greater awareness of its contribution when identifying areas
for intervention and when monitoring urban planning policies. This case study from Costa Rica refers to the role of diseconomies
of transportation and public safety problems in the measurement of urban quality of life. Theoretically, urban diseconomies,
or negative externalities, are the result of rises in average total costs over time as production increases and of the use
of certain factors without increasing scales. The cost of urban diseconomies related to transportation and to public safety
problems affects both external conditions contributing to quality of life (e.g.: level of income, access to services and resources
and productivity) and people’s subjective perspective of quality of life in various domains (e.g.: stress, time use, leisure
time and so on). These deficiencies have led to the reversal of gains from concentrated economic activities and positive externalities
achieved by agglomerated dwellings thus becoming urban diseconomies. An analysis is provided of city living and its ever-growing
problems warranting new styles of planning, regulations, and urban management, along with physical intervention based on comprehensive,
innovative technical solutions. The data comes from various sources, and a statistical model was used to obtain estimates
and projected data. The results suggest that if measures are not taken to reverse current urban growth and the expansion of
the Greater Metropolitan Area, people’s opportunities and fundamental rights of access to capacity building, potentially allowing
them to have more meaningful lifestyles, will be restricted.
for intervention and when monitoring urban planning policies. This case study from Costa Rica refers to the role of diseconomies
of transportation and public safety problems in the measurement of urban quality of life. Theoretically, urban diseconomies,
or negative externalities, are the result of rises in average total costs over time as production increases and of the use
of certain factors without increasing scales. The cost of urban diseconomies related to transportation and to public safety
problems affects both external conditions contributing to quality of life (e.g.: level of income, access to services and resources
and productivity) and people’s subjective perspective of quality of life in various domains (e.g.: stress, time use, leisure
time and so on). These deficiencies have led to the reversal of gains from concentrated economic activities and positive externalities
achieved by agglomerated dwellings thus becoming urban diseconomies. An analysis is provided of city living and its ever-growing
problems warranting new styles of planning, regulations, and urban management, along with physical intervention based on comprehensive,
innovative technical solutions. The data comes from various sources, and a statistical model was used to obtain estimates
and projected data. The results suggest that if measures are not taken to reverse current urban growth and the expansion of
the Greater Metropolitan Area, people’s opportunities and fundamental rights of access to capacity building, potentially allowing
them to have more meaningful lifestyles, will be restricted.
- Content Type Journal Article
- DOI 10.1007/s11482-010-9134-2
- Authors
- Arlette Pichardo-Muñiz, Internacional Center on Economic Policy (CINPE by acronym in Spanish), Universidad Nacional (Costa Rica), Campus Presbítero Benjamín Nuñez, Heredia, Costa Rica
- Journal Applied Research in Quality of Life
- Online ISSN 1871-2576
- Print ISSN 1871-2584