A Model for Determination of Life Quality Differences among Municipalities

Abstract

Objective: To design a model for determination of life quality differences among municipalities, which can guide decision-making throughout land-use planning.

Methods: Expert criteria combined with techniques of multivariate statistics.

Main results: Conception and integration of uni- and multidimensional indexes of quantitative life quality, and the quality of perceived life; the evaluation of inequality levels; the position of every municipality within the territorial context; and the identification of distinguishing characteristics of each cluster, which calls for actions based on land-use planning, toward reducing such inequalities.

Conclusions: The implementation of a customized model validates different analytical moments of its structure. Accordingly, its capacity to measure, classify, and evaluate the differences among municipalities in terms of life quality and its determining factors through established criteria, was demonstrated. The model also ranks and associates municipalities based on the outcome.