Lora, an economist at the Inter-American Development Bank, et al. assemble eight chapters by Latin American economists and researchers who explore a new method for monitoring the quality of urban life in Latin American cities, which attempts to solve problems that result from combining objective and subjective information and cover multiple issues. Using the criteria of market price of housing and the individual's life satisfaction, contributors look at quality of life in Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Medellín, Montevideo, and San José, Costa Rica. They address such questions as what urban problems have the most effects and impact people's opinion of city management; whether the city is improving or worsening in key areas; whether perceptions match objective indicators and whether there are variances in neighborhoods; where homebuilders can solve urban problems such as inadequate road infrastructure and poor safety; which problems the government should address first; which homeowners get the most economic benefits from public provision of services; and when property taxes should be used to finance services. They do not compare cities or provide city rankings. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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A growing number of cities around the world have established systems for monitoring the quality of urban life. Many of those systems combine objective information with subjective opinions and cover a wide variety of topics. This book assesses a method that takes advantage of both types of information and offers criteria to identify and rank the issues of potential importance for urban dwellers. This method—which combines the so-called 'hedonic price' and 'life satisfaction' approaches to value public goods—was tested in pilot studies in six Latin American cities: Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Medellín, Montevideo, and San José of Costa Rica. It provides valuable insights to address key questions such as, • Which urban problems have the greatest impact on people’s opinions of city management and the most widespread effects on their lives? • Do gaps between perception and reality vary from one area of the city to another, especially between high- and low-income neighborhoods? • Where can homebuilders most feasibly seek solutions to problems such as inadequate road infrastructure, a lack of recreational areas, or poor safety conditions? • Which problems should government authorities address first, in light of their impact on the well-being of various groups of individuals and given private actors’ abilities to respond? • Which homeowners benefit the most from public infrastructure or services? • When can or should property taxes be used to finance the provision of certain services—or the solution of certain problems? 'The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities: Markets and Perception' proposes a monitoring system that is easy to operate and that entails reasonable costs but also has a solid conceptual basis. Long the ideal of many scholars and practitioners, such a system may soon become a reality and have the potential to make a significant contribution to the decision-making processes in any city concerned with the well-being of its residents.
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