Preparing Quality of Life Surveys Versus Using Information for Sustainable Development: The Example of Polish Cities

Abstract Cities, in order to develop, should acquire data from various sources, properly process it, and skillfully use it for sustainable development. One such source is data from the surveys of residents’ quality of life. When processed as appropriate, the data may be a valuable source of information concerning sustainable development for the city. However, the very fact of carrying out the quality-of-life surveys does not guarantee that the information obtained from them will be used to manage the city. Based on studies entailing a sample of 29 city offices in Poland which declared regular studies of the residents’ quality of life, it was proved that the preparation and organization of such studies influences later use of such information for sustainable development purposes. Relying on the method of examining the quality of life and the number of specific indicators, the cities studied were divided into two groups. One was involved, and the other was not in the process of preparing quality-of-life surveys. A comparison was made between these groups of cities in terms of the areas included in the quality of life surveys, the decisions and actions taken based on the analysis of the results of these surveys, and the purposes for which the information is used. The areas in which the local government declares an impact on the quality of life of its residents were also compared. Attention was paid to significant differences between the two groups of cities and the effects of each of those two approaches were specified.