Comparing Subjective and Objective Quality of Life Criteria: A Case Study of Green Space and Public Transport in Vienna, Austria

A future-oriented spatial planning has to face the challenges of integrating ecological, social, and economic aspects of living. This is often seen as a principle to also guarantee a certain level of Quality of Life (QoL). QoL can be assessed subjectively, according to individual perceptions, and objectively, via secondary data sources. This paper is concerned with how well these two approaches may agree with one another, and in particular, enables the spatial mis-match between perceived satisfaction and objectively measured results to be identified. The case study of two fundamental QoL dimensions is examined in the city of Vienna, Austria: public transport and green space availability. Areas of general agreement discordance are mapped within a geographic information system and characteristics of residents living in places with a mis-match between satisfaction and GIS-derived measurements are assessed. Results show that while the objective and subjective measurements are largely in congruence with one another, some variations do exist, thus stressing the spatial heterogeneity in residential QoL perceptions.