Quality of Life Assessment Overview
Quality of Life Assessment is an approach as well as a technique
for undertaking sustainability appraisals. It identifies
'what matters and why' for guiding decisions on the management,
development and use of land. It considers social, economic
and environmental aspects of quality of life, including the less
tangible factors which relate to people's own values.
What is Quality of Life Assessment
Managing environmental, social and economic benefits
Quality of Life Assessment is a tool for maximising environmental, economic and social benefits as part of any land-use planning or management decision. Promoted by the three agencies (Natural England, English Heritage, and the Environment Agency), it reflects the Government's integrated approach to sustainable development.
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Evolution of the Approach
The Quality of Life Assessment approach is being promoted jointly by Natural England, English Heritage and the Environment Agency.
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Introduction to the Approach
The Quality of Life Assessment approach is a tool for
identifying what matters and why, so that the consequences (both
good and bad) of plans, development proposals and management
options on quality of life can be better taken into account by
practitioners and decision takers.
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What is Quality of Life for?
Politicians, policy makers, planners and developers continually
face decisions which seem to set different social, economic and
environmental goals against each other. Where should new
development be accommodated? Is a loss of green space or
outlook justified to create jobs or housing? How should
visitor pressures be managed in a beautiful but fragile
landscape?
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The Core Idea: Benefits and Services
The core idea of QoL Assessment is that the environment, the
economy and society provide a range of benefits for human life, and
that it is these benefits or services which we need to protect
and/or enhance.
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What tasks can Quality of Life Assessment help with?
The Quality of Life Assessment approach can be used in various tasks.
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The Quality of Life Assessment Process
All applications of the approach involve the same 6 basic steps.
This section introduces them; subsequent ones discuss them in more
detail.
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What Matters and Why Matrix
The process is usually summarised in a "What Matters and Why
Matrix"
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