Assessing inequalities in wellbeing at a neighbourhood scale in low- middle-income-country secondary cities and their implications for long-term livability

Steve Cinderby; Diane Archer; Vishal K. Mehta; Chris Neale; Cassilde Muhoza; Charrlotte Adelina; Heidi Tuhkanen; Romanus Opiyo; Rachel M. Paterman

doi:10.3389/fsoc.2021.729453

Assessing inequalities in wellbeing at a neighbourhood scale in low- middle-income-country secondary cities and their implications for long-term livability

Steve Cinderby, Diane Archer, Vishal K. Mehta, Chris Neale, Cassilde Muhoza, Charrlotte Adelina, Heidi Tuhkanen, Romanus Opiyo, Rachel M. Paterman

Stockholm Environment Institute at York

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

To ensure future sustainability, cities need to consider concepts of livability and resident wellbeing alongside environmental, economic and infrastructure development equity. The current rapid urbanization experienced in many regions is leading to sustainability challenges, but also offers the opportunity to deliver infrastructure supporting the social aspects of cities and the services that underpin them alongside economic growth. Unfortunately, evidence of what is needed to deliver urban wellbeing is largely absent from the global south. This paper contributes to filling this knowledge gap through a novel multidisciplinary study undertaken in two rapidly changing cities (one Thai and one Kenyan) using qualitative surveys, subjective wellbeing and stress measurements, and spatial analysis of urban infrastructure distribution. We find the absence of basic infrastructure (including waste removal, water availability and quality) unsurprisingly causes significant stress for city residents. However, once these services are in place, smaller variations (inequalities) in social and environmental conditions begin to play a greater role in determining differences in subjective wellbeing across a city. Our results indicate that spending time in urban greenspaces can mitigate the stressful impacts of city living even for residents of informal neighborhoods. Our data also highlights the importance of places that enable social interactions supporting wellbeing – whether green or built. These results demonstrate the need for diversity and equity in the provision of public realm spaces to ensure social and spatial justice. These findings strengthen the need to promote long term livability in LMIC urban planning alongside economic growth, environmental sustainability, and resilience.

Original language	English
Number of pages	16
Journal	Frontiers in Sociology
Early online date	8 Nov 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.729453
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 8 Nov 2021

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10.3389/fsoc.2021.729453Licence: CC BY

Cinderby et al. - 2021 - Assessing Inequalities in Wel
© 2021 Cinderby, Archer, Mehta, Neale, Opiyo, Pateman, Muhoza, Adelina and Tuhkanen.
Final published version, 2.67 MBLicence: CC BY

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2021.729453/abstract

Cite this

Cinderby, S., Archer, D., Mehta, V. K., Neale, C., Muhoza, C., Adelina, C., Tuhkanen, H., Opiyo, R., & Paterman, R. M. (2021). Assessing inequalities in wellbeing at a neighbourhood scale in low- middle-income-country secondary cities and their implications for long-term livability. Frontiers in Sociology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.729453

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