Evaluating Well-Being in Urban Neighborhoods : A Refinement of the Our City Index for Improved Social Sustainability Assessment

Sammanfattning

Well-being and quality of life are showing signs of decline across many OECD countries, with Sweden experiencing a decrease in life satisfaction and rising mental health challenges. Urban populations are facing particular challenges of well-being, and as urbanization accelerates, understanding how cities influence well-being becomes increasingly critical for enhancing social sustainability. This study aims to explore what mental health and well-being dimensions are relevant for strengthening social sustainability at a neighborhood level and what the implications of engaging in such questions may be. This study applies Atrium Ljungberg’s social sustainability framework, the Our City index, to understand its current capacity to evaluate urban well-being as a part of social sustainability and how to better integrate dimension of well-being. The research combines literature on concepts such as urban livability, subjective well-being and social cohesion, with empirical insights from social sustainability planning initiatives and professional expert interviews. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the perceived and social qualities of a neighborhood to subjective well-being. While environmental attributes play a role in supporting enhanced well-being, the impact also depends on people's engagement with their community and neighborhood. This reveals that physical improvements alone are insufficient to enhance well-being, and that it is essential to also focus on strengthening social interaction and social ties. As such, five key well-being dimensions have been identified: social infrastructure, walkability, a sense of belonging and inclusion, safety and security, and perception of place. The refinement of the Our City index introduces a new aspect called Mental Health and Well-Being which aims to assess subjective well-being by integrating both objective and perception-based indicators. Four new indicators are proposed: Proximity to Social Infrastructure, Perceived Walkability, Perceived Sociability, Perceived Community Support and Belonging that strives to understand the lived experiences of people. In conclusion, this thesis recognizes that there is an ability to support mental health and well-being through the built environment, but that it is necessary to combine it with subjective dimensions that recognizes how people perceive their neighborhood and its community. Furthermore, it is necessary to identify the agency of the actors involved in such questions and be aware of the inherent limitations that come with assessing mental health and well-being.