First results of the Urban Health and Quality of Life Observatory

Its principle: transpose to the inhabitants of an urban area the psychosocial risk analysis grids used in companies to advise municipalities from the angle of the “psychological health” of their residents. Tested since the beginning of 2022 on a sample of more than 3.000 respondents in 58 departments, the first national reference figures have just been published, in order to then be able to be compared with the cities which will wish to analyze the feelings of their inhabitants.

First indicators rich in food for thought for municipalities

The creation of a National Observatory for measuring the Quality of Urban Life (QVU) is a first in France, which scientifically assesses the perception that inhabitants have of their living environment. Through 98 questions grouped into 11 dimensions, 4 QVU moderators are estimated: protection factors, risk, leverage, vigilance. Their analysis makes it possible to answer the question “how are the French doing in their district/city” by:

• Identifying negative impacts such as experienced stress or perceived moral and physical health.
• Distinguishing the positive impacts, source of well-being and quality of urban life appreciated by the inhabitants.

The National Observatory for measuring the Quality of Urban Life will enable communities and municipalities to:

• Carry out a continuous referendum, a powerful factor of satisfaction for their populations.
• Restore strength and legitimacy to the civic experience and to local political life.

The main figures from the Health and Quality of Urban Life Observatory show that the French have a positive assessment of their quality of urban life, with a score of 69/100.

• Stress: 15,2/40
• Physical health: 67/100
• Moral health: 66/100
• Personal QV: 70/100

Beyond these raw results, the national average for comparison, these indicators aim to highlight the priority factors in the eyes of those who are doing best, and vice versa, so that municipalities and communities can implement projects that aim for continuous improvement.

For Barbara Attia: “For the time being, the questionnaire addresses all the dimensions that we know, from the literature, have an impact on the health and quality of life of the inhabitants: feelings of freedom, security or belonging , attachment to place, importance of social support, memories etc; while evaluating their perceptions about their urban environment: the spacing of constructions, the beauty of buildings, the different spaces available, accessibility, exposure to different risks, etc. The cross-referencing of these data makes it possible to make both an inventory of the overall health of local residents but also to give a definition of a quality urban environment. »

Qualitative analysis of the first results of the Urban Health and Quality of Life Observatory

The positive impacts on the Urban Quality of Life are:

• Strategic protective factors: the feeling of being well integrated into one's neighborhood and its reputation, perceived social support, eye contact established in one's local urban environment, the range of activities offered for children, the volume of buildings.
• The levers for improving the Quality of Urban Life: the importance of the associative fabric, the ease of access to sanitary facilities, the presence of medical equipment, the feeling of being consulted and the possibility of carrying out actions in favor of ecology,

The negative impacts on the Urban Quality of Life are:

• The annoyance caused by neighborhood noise as well as the annoyance caused by the management of garbage and waste, the feeling of oppression and the security risk are the points of vigilance to which the greatest attention should be paid.
• Finally, the feeling that one builds too much is the priority risk factor for the French population today.

Quantitative analysis of the first results of the Urban Health and Quality of Life Observatory

• Overall women are more stressed than men (15.9/40 vs 14.2/40).

They also have a lower physical and moral form than men. (F=64.7/100; M=68.8/100) (F=63.8/100; M=68.9/100)

• With age, stress decreases

Young people aged under 20 show the highest stress score (18.1/40), people aged between 20 and 49 are only slightly less stressed (16.8/40). In this continuity, people aged between 50 and 59 are also less stressed with 13.2/40, as well as seniors aged 70 and over (12.3/40). More specifically, the data shows that the most stressed are students (18.7/40) followed by people looking for work (17.6/40) and people who have signed a fixed-term contract (17.6/40).

• Heterogeneous levels of perceived fitness

Students show a fairly low level of moral fitness (57.6/100) unlike executives and higher professional categories (70.7/100).

People looking for work have a rather low physical and moral fitness (58.2 and 57.3/100), compared to people in independent activity who have the highest level of physical fitness (71.1/100).

• Fit, happy retirees and couples in their neighborhood

Retirees are those with the lowest level of stress (12.3/40) and also have the highest level of moral form (69.9/100). They are the least likely to leave their neighborhoods (33.1/100).

People living as a couple are also less stressed (13.5/40) and are in good moral and physical shape (70.1 and 67.6/100). This category of person is also one of those who least want to leave their neighborhood (37.6/100).

For Barbara Attia: "With the Urban Health and Quality of Life Observatory, my ultimate goal is to succeed in including the well-being of populations in national statistics, and thus supplement the data to which we are accustomed to refer, which are today too focused on the economy and too little on questioning users. The ambition of the Urban Health and Quality of Life Observatory is to provide a fine and precise analysis of the expectations of city dwellers, because the Quality of Urban Life is both a public utility and public health issue: improving the quality life of the inhabitants and the perception of their urban environment, in a scientific and responsible way. For local authorities, considering the expectations of the inhabitants amounts to having a proactive approach towards a “happy city”. Giving people the keys to understanding a project that concerns them means committing them to it. »