The work synthesizes past and current research on the quality of urban life that has been done internationally. It emphasizes the contributions of the urban environment to the overall well-being of residents living in urban areas ranging in scale from small cities and their hinterlands to metropolitan regions. By urban environment, we mean the socio-physical aspects of urban living ranging from individual dwellings and neighbourhoods to public services (i.e. transportation, rubbish collection, etc.) to neighbours and community organizations. The work emphasizes not only perceptions of and behaviours within urban environments but the actual conditions to which individuals are responding. That is, the research covers both the subjective and behavioural aspects of urban living but also the objective conditions which drive them.

The work that has been underway is theoretically driven and will contribute to knowledge in several academic disciplines. At the same time, it is designed to inform public policy and planning in each setting.

This book stems from a long period of collaborative research between the editors, research colleagues, and their graduate students. It als draws on collaborative research with international scholars investigating aspects of urban quality of life in their respective settings. Many of these efforts parallel work initiated by the editors in metro Detroirt and in southeast Queensland. It involvesresearch that incorporated theoretical and methodological appraches to the conceptualizing and measuring quality of life. The book will cover research designs that are based on both the analysis and modelling of aggregate secondary data and thecollection, analysis and modelling of primary survey data on subjective urban quality of life. It also covers the interface of survey data with spatial objective data using GIS techniques.

The book will comprise chapters which: 1) provide an overview of theoretical perspectives on the study of urban quality of life; 2) present research designs for the collection of data to measure and model QoL domains; 3) provide a series of case studies of urban QoL in a number of around the world."

The study of quality of urban life involves both an objective approach to analysis using spatially aggregated secondary data and a subjective approach using unit record survey data whereby people provide subjective evaluations of QOL domains. This book provides a comprehensive overview of theoretical perspectives on QOUL and methodological approaches to research design to investigate QOUL and measure QOL dimensions. It incorporates empirical investigations into QOUL in a range of cities across the world.

A group of academics and practitioners in urban planning and development present an array of essays, primarily focused on Pacific Rim cities, that analyze successful policies and programmes in urban development and explain why they have worked. These essays identify a number of key themes of change that are leading to innovation in strategic planning and management of urban regions/cities in the context of globalization, economic restructuring, social change, and the changing interface between government, the private sector, and the community sectors. These themes include, among others: electronic commerce and its impact on urban development, community involvement in planning, historical preservation, strategies for central city growth and revival, private sector versus government leadership in planning, creation of new cities from scratch contrasted with reinventing existing cities, and tools for urban planning and management. This should be a useful tool to all those actively involved and interested in the process of urban development worldwide.

The completely reedited second edition of this book reflects recent advances and adds insightful new material. The book analyzes regional economic performance and change, and discusses how analysis integrates with strategies for local and regional economic development policy and planning. The aim is to provide the reader with an account of quantitative and qualitative approaches to regional economic analysis, and of old and new strategic frameworks for formulating regional economic development planning.

Examining a broad range of questions--from how human beings negotiate the spaces in which they live, work, and play to how firms and institutions, and their spatial behaviors, are affected by processes of economic and societal change--this work presents an overview of research into the spatial behavior of humans and their institutions. Updating and expanding concepts of decision making and choice behavior on different geographic scales, this major revision of the authors' acclaimed Analytical Behavioral Geography presents theoretical foundations, extensive case studies, and empirical evidence of human behavior in a comprehensive range of physical, social, and economic settings. Generously illustrated with maps, diagrams, and tables, the volume also covers issues of gender, discusses traditionally excluded groups such as the physically and mentally challenged, and addresses the pressing needs of our growing elderly population.