University of Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences, Sari, Iran

Transcription

1 Journl of Socil Sciences 5(2): , 2009 ISSN Science Publictions An ssessment of Urbn Qulity of Life by Using Anlytic Hierrchy Process Approch (Cse study: Comprtive Study of Qulity of Life in the North of Irn) 1 Sedigheh Lotfi nd 2 Krim Solimni 1 Deprtment of Urbn Plnning, University of Mzndrn, Irn 2 Remote Sensing nd Geogrphic Informtion Science Center, University of Agriculture nd Nturl Resource Sciences, Sri, Irn Abstrct: Problem Sttement: Reserches of qulity of life re concentrted minly on the urbn nture in the recent yers nd the urbn qulity of life gined mny ttentions in empiricl studies. The concept of urbn qulity of life is multi-dimensionl nd complex issue. So, needless to sy tht this concept cn be used in plnning when there is n pproprite nd relible frmework for mesuring. Approch: The present study tried to crete frmework on the bse of Anlytic Hierrchy Process (AHP) for objective mesuring of urbn qulity of life nd then it would be pplied for comprtive study of two northern cities of Irn. Results: The results showed tht using nlytic hierrchy process model cretes opportunity to involving the different groups views of urbn users with respect to their duties nd functions in the stge of criteri weighting. Conclusion: This process not only provided n pproprite bed for objective mesuring of urbn qulity of life but it fcilitted the prticiption of urbn uthorities in the process of mesuring nd nlyzing the urbn qulity. Also one of the dvntges of the model ws its high level of clrity nd simplicity which could be perceived by ll urbn decision mkers. Key words: Objective Urbn Qulity of Life (UQOL), Anlyticl Hierrchy Process (AHP), mesuring, comprtive study INTRUDUCTION Reserchers from vriety of disciplines hve studied Qulity Of Life (QOL) since the 1930s [53]. They tried to identify the components of QOL nd compred vrious geogrphicl res such s cities, sttes nd ntions by mens of QOL indices tht they developed [2,3,25,48,47]. In ddition to the reserchers, interntionl orgniztions such s UNDP [51] developed its own mesures for QOL. The desire to improve the qulity of life in prticulr plce or for prticulr person or group is n importnt focus of ttention for plnners [28]. An importnt reson for such n interest in QOL lies in the question of effective lloction of scrce resources [32]. In fct improvement of life qulity in ech society is one of the importnt ims of public policies. In recent yers studies of life qulity hve minly concentrted on the urbn nture nd urbn qulity of life gined much ttention mong the reserchers. Clerly the increse of urbn popultion nd the incresing tendency for living in the city is one of the min incentives to expnd n independent movement on life qulity reserches. The urbn QOL concept gins more importnce when it is considered tht the world popultion is expected to rech somewhere between billion [22] nd the urbn popultion is expected to rech 50% [47] in the beginning of the next century. The multi-dimensionl chrcter nd evolutionl nture of qulity of life led to different interprettions which mde the investigtion difficult. So the recent reserch on the qulity of life emphsis on the qulity of mesuring this concept in the cities. Clrk nd Khn [7] used two-stge hedonic pproch to estimte willingness to py for urbn culturl menities such s muse ums, theter, dnce, instrumentl music nd zoos. For typicl city, the mrginl benefits from improving these culturl goods re estimted to be in the $.85-$57.9 mil lion rnge for n dditionl theter nd n dditionl zoo, respectively. Stover nd Leven [48] exmined the importnce of functionl form in estimting vlues for the qulity of life in urbn res. Vlues of locl menities re ssessed from the interction between the lbor nd rel estte mrkets. Alterntive theoreticl specifictions re consistent with previous study but yet different. Results show qulity of life rnkings for 253 urbn counties re highly sensitive to lter ntive model specifictions. Corresponding Author: Sedigheh Lotfi, Deprtment of Urbn Plnning, University of Mzndrn, Irn 123

2 In Ginnis [16] reserch, structurl pproch to hedonic equilibrium models is used to estimte qulity of life rnking of five cities in the United Sttes. Qulity of life is function of housing nd neighborhood chrcteristics (number of rooms, ir qulity nd trvel time to work) nd of city-wide menities. Resulting qulity of life vlues nd rnkings re different from those implied by previous study. Michlos nd Zumbo [33] predicted life stisfction from 14 life domins for seven different time periods between 1979 nd Of those domins relting to urbn QOL, housing ws significnt in six time Objective nd subjective indictors of urbn qulity of life 81 periods, recretionl ctivity in five, trnsporttion in four, government services in three nd residentil re in two (though it ws not included in one time period). Thus, stisfctions in vrious urbn domins predict overll life stisfction. Ulengin et l. [50] used multidimensionl pproch to urbn qulity of life. The purpose of this study is to model the priorities, expecttions nd needs of the inhbitnts of Istnbul, city with popultion of bout 10 million, from multidimensionl perspective. In this wy, effective lloction of the city's resources cn be chieved to improve the Qulity Of Life (QOL) for such lrge number of people, which is the primry concern of the locl uthorities s well s the urbn plnners. For this reson, survey is conducted in Istnbul so tht the priorities of the inhbitnts re reveled nd the city where they would like to live is portryed. The dt obtined re used s input for hierrchicl conjoint nlysis. The survey is primrily bsed on the evlution of hypotheticl, experimentlly designed city profiles for four different constructs on 0-10 rting scle. The reltive importnce of the constructs is estimted through the eigenvector pproch. McCre et l. [30] exmined different geogrphic levels of subjective urbn QOL. Regionl stisfction ws best predicted by evlutions of regionl services (such s helth nd eduction) nd the cost of living, while evlutions of environmentl nd urbn growth problems were significnt predictors of regionl stisfction for younger persons. Neighborhood stisfction ws best predicted by evlutions of socil interctions, neighborhood crime nd public (prks, librries), while housing stisfction ws predicted best by ge of home nd home ownership. Richrds et l. [39] investigte the fctors tht re most importnt in improving the qulity of life of residents in informl housing s well s the min obstcles to better qulity of life. It uses regression nlysis to obtin n understnding of the kinds of issues which 124 shpe qulity of life in these res nd concludes by suggesting severl reserch directions which would improve our knowledge of qulity of life for informl settlement residents. The present study ttempts to provide n pproprite frmework by using nlytic hierrchicl process for objective mesuring of urbn qulity of life. Then it will conduct comprtive study in two urbn centers of Irn. Such study not only provides good context for mesuring qulity of life but it fcilittes the prticiption of urbn uthorities nd locl decision mkers to tke prt in the process of plnning. Mesuring qulity of life: A number of reserchers such s Mc Cll [29], Myers [35], Dvidson nd Cotter [10], O'Brien nd Ayidy [36], Gryson nd Young [17], Diener nd Suh [12], Turksever nd Atlik [49] hve reviewed literture on QOL nd there is generl greement tht meningful definition of QOL must recognize tht there re two linked dimensions to the concept, nmely psychologicl one nd n environmentl one. Dissrt nd Deller [13] rgue tht "A person's qulity of life is dependent on the exogenous (objective) fcts of his or her life nd the endogenous (subjective) perceptions he or she hs of these fctors nd of himself or herself." Gryson nd Young [17] note tht "there ppers to be consensus tht in defining qulity of life there re two fundmentl sets of components nd processes operting: those tht relte to n internl psychologicl mechnism producing sense of stisfction or grtifiction with life nd those externl conditions which trigger the internl mechnism." With respect to the first dimension other terms hve been used, for exmple individul/ personl QOL, subjective well-being or life stisfction. For the second dimension there re different levels nd terms used for exmple urbn QOL, community QOL, qulity of plce, environmentl QOL [28]. Since the concept of qulity of life is very complex, often it is sid tht integrting the two dimensions cn provide good picture of qulity of life for person or plce. Dissrt nd Deller [13] resoning tht qulity of life for n individul is depended to the objective nd externl relities nd his (her) subjective nd internl perception of these fctors nd himself too. As noted lredy the concept of qulity of life is complex nd it could be used in the field of urbn plnning when n pproprite nd relible frmework is devised for mesuring it. There re two sets of indictors for the mesuring qulity of life which most of the reserchers re greed with them. The first set is Objective Indictors which refers to the objective nd visible spects of the urbn life nd re defined by different elements. For exmple

3 the number of hospitls in city, unemployment rte, the volume of crime nd the re of urbn green spces. The second set is Subjective Indictors which tries to mesure nd quntify the citizens stisfction from the urbn welfre. For instnce stisfction of people from helth cre ccessibility, ccess to job, stisfction of urbn security or ccess to green spces. There re two min pproches for mesuring urbn qulity of life in the literture which is ccepted by the most of the reserchers. First one is Objective Urbn Qulity of Life nd the second pproch is Subjective Urbn Qulity of Life. However the citizen stisfction from different spects of urbn life would not be study by this pproch but the objective indictors re mesured. In this pproch the secondry dt re used for indictor definition nd is depended to the different sttistics of the city in some extend. Objective urbn QOL studies typiclly include mny objective chrcteristics of the urbn environment, often combining or weighting objective indictors to generte n objective urbn QOL rnking for plces [2,3,6,43,48,50]. Studies on subjective urbn QOL hve found tht subjective evlutions of mny spects of the urbn environment cn contribute to stisfction in urbn domins nd overll life stisfction [30,33,45,46,49]. The urbn qulity of life is mesured by using the subjective indictors nd insted of secondry dt, the citizens re sked (questionnires, interview ) directly for the level of their hppiness bout different spects of urbn life. Mesuring subjective indictors re more time consuming nd costly, however the results re more logic nd rel thn the first pproch. Empiricl reserch provides support for the generliztion tht correltions between objective indictors nd relevnt life stisfction domins re often wek nd generlly lower thn correltions between life stisfction domins nd overll life stisfction [31]. Consequently, the two sets of objective nd subjective criteri re used for mesuring the qulity of life in the recent yers. McCre et l. [31] in their reserch linked two types of indictors using Geogrphicl Informtion Systems (GIS) to both locte respondents to the 2003 Survey of Qulity of Life in South Est Queenslnd nd lso to gther objective indictors bout their urbn environment within the region with regrd to services, nd overcrowding. Using Structurl Eqution Modeling (SEM), the strength of the reltionships between these objective indictors nd subjective indictors ws exmined. The results show tht reltionships between objective nd subjective indictors of urbn QOL cn be wek nd suggests cre 125 should be tken when mking inferences bout improvements in subjective urbn QOL bsed on improvements in objective urbn QOL. Sntos nd Mrtins [40] described the monitoring system of the urbn qulity of life developed by the Porto City Council, new tool being used to support urbn plnning nd mngement. The two components of this system- quntittive pproch bsed on sttisticl indictors nd qulittive nlysis bsed on the citizens perceptions of the conditions of life-re presented. It is rgued tht, in order to chieve deeper understnding nd more effective mesurement of urbn qulity of life, both kinds of mesurements re useful nd complement ech other. The recent reserches show tht using both of objective nd subjective indictors is the most pproprite wy to mesuring nd the using its results for urbn plnning. In fct system should be designed which monitor both sets of indictors continuously nd then present the results for urbn plnners nd locl decision mkers. Wht is AHP? The Multi Criteri Decision Mking (MCDM) is set of techniques (e.g., sum of weights or conversion nlysis) which is ble to weight nd score rnge of criteri nd then the scores re rnked by the expertise nd other relted interested groups [19]. The MCDA techniques re sptil in much degree. In fct, criteri re different mong the number of decision in spce [27]. However, despite the potentil of MCDA model for integrtion to del with sptil units problems, it gined ttention only in certin period of times in some prcticl reserches nd mngeril limits [15]. Urbn plnners used the strtegy of MCDA integrtion for deling with sptil issues from 1990s [38]. A city system cn not be studied only by considering the simple concepts like lnd use or trffic. Now plnners need to develop nd deepen their understnding bout city system by nlyzing vrious socio-economic nd politicl indictors. The issues which need to be delt t sme times crete condition which mny lterntives should be tested nd integrted to improve [26]. Nowdys, there re numbers of MCDM methods vilble for selection e.g. Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT), Multiobjective Progrmming (MOP), Novel pproch to imprecise ssessment nd decision environments (NAIADE), Anlyticl Hierrchy Process (AHP) [11]. The AHP pproch, developed by Stty [41], is one of the more extensively used MCDM methods. The AHP hs been pplied to wide vriety of decisions nd the humn judgment process [24]. This technique is one of the MCDA methods with mny cpbilities

4 which is used in different scientific disciplines. The previous reserches show tht the technique of MCDA which is known AHP is very suitble for solving complicted issues [54]. It is widely pplied to humn fields such s resources lloction, project design, plnning for urbn development, mintennce mngement, policy evlution [1,5,8,41,44]. This method is very suitble for complex socil issue in which intngible nd tngible fctors cnnot be seprted [23]. Obtining solutions in the AHP is not sttisticl procedure, becuse it cn help either single decision mker or decision group to solve MCDM problem [4]. One of the most importnt dvntges of AHP reltes to its bility to mesure quntittive nd qulittive chrcteristics of decision [21]. In ddition AHP is flexible to llow revision. The decision mkers cn expnd the elements of the hierrchy nd chnge the expert judgments from time to time. Applying the AHP procedure involves three bsic steps: (1) Decomposition, or the hierrchy construction; (2) Comprtive judgments, or defining nd executing dt collection to obtin pir-wise comprison dt on elements of the hierrchicl structure nd (3) Synthesis of priorities, or constructing n overll priority rting [18]. In first stge, the decision mkers need to brek down complex multiple criteri decision problems into its component prts of which every possible ttributes re rrnged into multiple hierrchicl levels. The criteri nd sub-criteri re not ech eqully importnt to the decision t ech level of the hierrchy nd ech lterntive rtes differently on ech criteri. AHP cn provide n nlyticl process tht is ble to combine nd consolidte the evlutions of the lterntives nd criteri by either n individul or group involved in the decision-mking tsk [9]. One notes tht two elements being compred t given time gretly reduces the conceptul complexity of n nlysis. This simplifiction involves ssumptions tht Stty [41] nd others [34,37] considered resonble. Given pir-wise comprison, the nlysis involves three tsks: (1) Developing comprison mtrix t ech level of the hierrchy strting from the second level nd working down, (2) Computing the reltive weights for ech element of the hierrchy nd (3) Estimting the consistency rtio to check the consistency of the judgment [4]. The comprisons cn be crried out through personl or subjective judgments [20]. The 9-point scle used in typicl nlytic hierrchy studies is rnging from 1 (indifference or equl importnce) to 9 (extreme preference or bsolute importnce) (Tble 1). This pir-wise comprison enbled the decision mker to evlute the contribution of ech fctor to the objective independently, thereby simplifying the decision mking process. 126 Tble 1: 9-point intensity of reltive importnce scle Intensity of importnce Definition Explntion 1 Equl importnce Two ctivities contribute eqully to the objective 3 Wek importnce Experience nd judgment of one over nother slightly fvor one ctivity over nother 5 Essentil or strong Experience nd judgment importnce strongly fvor one ctivity over nother 7 Demonstrted An ctivity is strongly Importnce fvored nd its dominnce Is demonstrted in prctice 9 Absolute importnce The evidence fvoring one Activity over nother is of the highest possible order of ffirmtion 2, 4, 6, 8 Intermedite vlues When compromise is Reciprocls of bove nonzero Stty nd Kerns [42] between the two djcent judgments If ctivity i hs one of the bove nonzero numbers ssigned to it when compred with ctivity j, then j hs the reciprocl vlue when compred with i. needed Elements in ech level re compred in pirs with respect to their importnce to n element in the next higher level. Strting t the top of the hierrchy nd working down, the pir-wise comprisons t given level cn be reduced to number of squre mtrices A = [α ij ] n n s in the following: n n... 1n 2n... nn The mtrix hs reciprocl properties, which re: ji 1 = After ll pir wise comprison mtrices re formed, the vector of weights, w = [w 1, w 2,, w n ], is computed on the bsis of Stty s eigenvector procedure. The computtion of the weights involves two steps. First, the pir wise comprison mtrix A = [α ij ] n n is normlized by Eq. 1 nd then the weights re computed by Eq. 2: * ij = ij n i= 1 ij ij (1)

5 for ll j = 1, 2,,n MATERIALS AND METHODS w i = n * ij j= 1 n for ll I = 1, 2,, n (2) Stty [41] showed tht there is reltionship between the vector weights, w nd the pir-wise comprison mtrix, A, s shown in Eq. 3: Aw = λ mx w (3) The λ mx vlue is n importnt vlidting prmeter in AHP nd is used s reference index to screen informtion by clculting the Consistency Rtio (CR) of the estimted vector. To clculte the CR, the Consistency Index (CI) for ech mtrix of order n cn be obtined from Eq. 4: λmx n CI = n 1 Then, CR cn be clculted using Eq. 5: (4) CI CR = (5) RI Proposl process for mesuring UQOL: As it noted lredy urbn qulity of life could hve brod mening which cretes room for different interprettions. So, to use this concept in urbn plnning needs n pproprite frmework for mesuring. The multi-criteri models could be used for mesuring s they re simple to understnd for ppliction. Multi-criteri models re used in this reserch for urbn qulity of life mesuring nd investigtion. The stges of proposed model re s follow: An introduction to the subject nd the re: The reserch strted by n introduction of the cse studies. This hd n importnt role for definition of qulity of life with its different dimensions in the study res. However, these chrcters my hve mny similrities but there hve been mny differences which hd to be considered in the first stge Formulting the different dimensions of QOl for the cse studies: The subject ws studied by serch in the literture to provide the ground for better knowledge bout qulity of life. The cse ws further discussed with locl experts for more ccurte formultions of the criteri in the two cse cities. where, RI is the rndom consistency index obtined from rndomly generted pir-wise comprison mtrix. Tble 2 shows the vlue of the RI from mtrices of order 1-10 s suggested by Stty [41]. If CR<0.1, then the comprisons re cceptble. If, however, CR 0.1, then the vlues of the rtio re indictive of inconsistent judgments. In such cses, one should reconsider nd revise the originl vlues in the pir wise comprison mtrix A. The AHP ws dopted in eduction, engineering, government, industry, mngement, mnufcturing, personl, politicl, socil nd sports [52]. The wide pplicbility is due to its simplicity, ese of use nd gret flexibility. It cn be integrted with other techniques, for instnce, mthemticl progrmming in order to consider not only both qulittive nd quntittive fctors, but lso some rel-world resource limittions. Tble 2: Rndom inconsistency indices (ri) for N = 10 N RI Stty [41] 127 Indictors nd criteri definition: The different dimensions of urbn qulity of life include mjor issues such s environmentl qulity, socil environment qulity. These issues cn not be mesured s they hve n expnded mening, so pproprite criteri nd indictors could help for mesuring. The hierrchicl chrt of the subject: The ims, criteri nd the lterntives should be shown by drwing grph in the first step in hierrchicl process. Trnsferring the subject of study to hierrchicl structure is the most importnt prt of the nlytic hierrchicl process. Dimension weighting nd the criteri: Devising n pproprite frmework for weighting the dimensions nd selected criteri is necessry for mesuring qulity of life, s they hve no similr weights in generl qulity nd vry in different plces. For exmple in some of the dvnced countries the socil qulity my gin more importnce while environmentl problems re the most importnt dimension of the qulity of life in developing world.

6 There re different models for weighing which ech of then hs their dvntges nd disdvntges. Here the group weighting of Professor Sty in nlytic hierrchicl process is used which could be n pproprite frmework for the prticiption of brod rnge of expertise nd locl uthorities in the process of weighting. The pir-wise comprtive mtrix re creted when the reserch group greed on the hierrchicl process. This method the nlytic hierrchy gives the opportunity to ech of decision mker to enter their view in the mtrix nd the single judge will chnged to group judge (for pir-wise comprison) by using geometric men. Aczel nd Sty [42] hve shown tht geometric men is the best method for integrtion of different judgments in the process of group nlytic hierrchy. Preference ssignment of the lterntives: By using the pir-wise comprisons which could be in group, the preference of ech plce would be determined by the given criteri nd indictors. It should be mentioned tht the comptibility of judgments is investigted in ech level of pir-wise comprisons in the previous stge. The judgments were reviewed when the figure ws equl or more thn the stndrd limit (0.1). Finl scoring nd rnking of lterntives: In this stge the finl weight of ech plce would be determined by using the populr methods with respect to the weight of dimensions, criteri nd the preference of lterntives. The level of qulity of life would be rnked by the mount of scores which ech plce gined. Also specific rnking could be done by the different dimensions of ech plce. This leds to comprehensive view of different dimensions of the qulity of life for plnner in different plces. The reserch process: The present reserch hs been conducted in the north of Irn by selecting two cities of Bbol nd Sri. These urbn centers re locted in the province of Mzndrn. The province covers n re of km 2 which includes 1.4% of country s totl re. About 50.6% popultion lived in urbn res in However the shre of urbn popultion is lower thn the ntionl level (66.8%) but there is potentil for ccelerting trend of urbniztion due to its rurl residents. Bbol nd Sri re two of lrgest city of the province which hve importnt function in the region. Sri is the dministrtive center of the province nd Bbol is commercil regionl metropole. The ltest census shows tht Sri nd Bbol hd nd popultion in 2006 respectively. As it noted bove the reserch is intended to provide n pproprite frmework by using nlytic hierrchicl process for the prticiption of locl urbn uthorities nd experts. In order to hve representtive result, 50 experts were invited to prticipte in the judgment process in this reserch. They cn be divided into two groups with 20 experts ech. Group 1 is experienced urbn plnning nd design prctitioners i.e., rchitects, urbn plnners nd property development mngers hving more thn 15 yers working experiences in the construction in cses studies. These experts hd quite good knowledge bout the urbn problems of the cities s ech of them hd specilized in urbn field nd experience. The second group were the citizen who hd no professionl knowledge nd were imprtil, but were involved with the city constrins due to their socil position. For exmple locl mosques clergies or the members of nongovernmentl gencies. They know the needs nd wnts of citizens well nd therefore their views cn represent the citizens thinking to lrge extent. The process of nlytic hierrchy provided good ground for using their views in the process of mesuring the objective qulity of life in the two cities. Development of hierrchicl decision model: As mentioned before for ppliction AHP method, it is necessry to develop hierrchicl decision model for the decision problem. The decision model of this study illustrted in Fig. 1 is broken into three mjor levels including gol level, objectives level nd design criteri level. The gol level is the topmost level which describes the decision problem. This study ttempts to objective mesuring nd compring urbn qulity of life in selected cse studies. The second level is the objectives level comprised of four spects: physicl qulity, socil qulity, economicl qulity nd environmentl qulity while the third level consists of vrious design criteri. In order to identify the priorities of three sustinble development objectives in the second level nd the reltive importnce of different design criteri in the third level, series of pir-wise comprisons hve to be performed by the experts. The elements in both levels re then weighted nd the finl score for ech potentil renewl proposl is bsed on the composite view of group of experts engging in the judgment process. 128

7 Fig. 1: AHP decision model for objective mesuring urbn qulity of life Selecting indictors: After determining dimensions of qulity of life in the smple cities, some indictors should be selected for mesuring s these dimensions re very generl nd cn not mesured by itself. Dwyer et l. [14] believe tht the most importnt chrcteristics of selected indictors re s follow: Support concept: One of the importnt issues for indictor selection is tht they should be ble to response the needs of reserch questions. Vlidity: Indictors must introduce the explined concepts in the model or should be vluble lterntive for the concept replcement. Dt vilbility nd qulity: The indictors should be extrcted from relible source. Sensitivity: Indictors re sensible in the course of time which this provides ground for more understnding of detils of mesuring indictors. Simplicity: Indictors re used to illustrte the concepts to brod rnge of users, so despite their complexity, they should be perceived esily. Quntittivenes: Indictors should be mesured by the methods which re understood simply. The indictors were considered in this stge s ccessible in the two smple cities which it ws one of the min limittions of the study. These indictors re indicted in Fig. 1 nd Tble 3. The dt of the indictors hve been provided from the different sttisticl centers nd police offices. 129 Tble 3: Selected indictors Environmentl Economicl Socil Physicl Aspects qulity qulity qulity qulity Selected Snittion Employment Crime rte Public indictors system progress rte trnsport rte Access to green Housing cost Culturl Urbn politicl spce nd prk Sport Building helthy qulity eductionl Computing the reltive weights: During the interview, ech expert is requested to tke prt in AHP judgment process with the id of computer softwre clled Expert Choice. By using this softwre, the reltive weights of the objectives nd corresponding criteri nd the consistency rtios of the mtrices cn be clculted. If there is ny mtrix with n uncceptble CR vlue, the expert is required to mke judgment on tht mtrix gin. In order to improve the consistency in rtings, the experts cn be explined bout the concept of pirwise comprison. The rounded generic men of ech individul comprisons wer consider s finl view the in next stge Tble 4-8 show the reltive weights, Eigenvector nd CR vlues for ech of them. In Tble 2 nd 4, four UQOL spects (level 2 of the decision model) were rted pir by pir with respect to the decision problem (topmost level of the decision model). In Fig. 1, the selected indictors (level 3 of the decision model) were rted pir by pir in reltion to their respective spect (level 2 of the decision model). The lst column of ech mtrix shows the eigenvectors indicting the bsolute priority weight of ech rted criterion.

8 Tble 4: Comprisons of four UQOL spects Eigenvector Physicl qulity /482 Socil qulity 1/ /4 0/12 Economicl qulity 1/ /6 0/057 Environmentl qulity 1/ /341 CR = 0/05 Tble 5: Pir-wise comprison for physicl qulity indictors Eigenvector Building /696 qulity Urbn politicl 1/ /229 Public trnsport rte 1 1/4 1/7 0/075 CR = 0/07 Tble 6: Pir-wise comprison of socil qulity indictors Eigenvector Eductionl 1 1/6 1/3 1 1/8 0/046 Helthy /4 0/242 Sport 3 1/ /6 0/107 Culturl 1 1/6 1/3 1 1/8 0/046 Crime rte /56 CR = 0/04 Tble 7: Pir-wise comprison for economic qulity indictors Eigenvector Housing cost 1 1 0/5 Employment rte 1 1 0/5 Tble 8: Pir-wise comprison for environmentl indictors Eigenvector Access to green 1 1/5 0/167 spce nd prk Snittion system 5 1 0/833 progress By following the process, the lterntives (Bbol nd Sri cities) were pir-wise judgment of the group with respect to selected indictors. The min im of the model ws to mesure nd prioritize the urbn qulity of life in the two cse study cities. The finl score of ech city could be computed by integrtion of reltive weights of dimensions, criteri nd lterntives for urbn qulity of life. The finl weight ws computed by Expert Choice nd the finl score of qulity of life for Sri ws nd for Bbol the figure incresed to RSULTS The results reveled tht using nlytic hierrchy process model cretes opportunity to involving the different groups views of urbn users with respect to their duties nd functions in the stge of criteri 130 weighting. By considering to the flexibility of the model, the ttitudes of locl community could be integrted well to the decision mking process. The results showed tht despite the generl expecttion, urbn qulity of life ws better in the smller city of Bbol compred to the dministrtive center of the province i.e., Sri. Such condition dicttes the urbn uthorities to exmine their plns nd projects to promote the level of urbn qulity of life on the bse of reserch relities not crude reding. DISCUSSION The different dimensions of urbn qulity of life hve been studied in the two cities nd then the dimensions of physicl, environmentl, socil nd economic scored higher respectively. Such situtions show the importnce of provision of primry needs nd services in the developing countries which re the min concerns of urbn uthorities nd experts. The environmentl qulity is very serious problem s it plced in the second rnk for the urbn qulity life in the re. The re is one of the most concentrted zone in the north nd now is fcing sever environmentl problems. The reltive weights of ech city could be computed in the line with selected indictors nd criteri fter pir-wise comprison. These weights cn be very useful for sectorl plnning which the locl uthorities intend to do in future. It mens tht ll of the different scores of indictors could be compred nd the urbn resource nd llocte in n optimum wy to increse the level of qulity of life. The mbition of 'qulity of life' hs been focl point for plnner in certin plce with certin person or group. Also it could be stte tht plnning s generl nd public ctivity could upgrde the urbn qulity of life potentilly. The concept of qulity of life could be exploited t lest in stges of the process of urbn plnning. First stge is when plnners try to hve correct nd relible perspective from the existed conditions of the city. In fct plnners intend to specify the issues which hve more priorities, so knowledge bout the different dimensions of qulity of life is n pproprite guide in this stge. Second stge is when the projects nd plns should be investigted to be confirmed for their efficiency nd usefulness. In this stge the impct of different projects on the qulity of life could be very importnt for the plnner nd decision mkers. Clerly plns nd projects with more efficiency which increse the urbn qulity of life nd especilly be ble to upgrde the spects of plnner's concerns, would be ccepted by the urbn plnners.

9 As it ws discussed in the literture review, urbn qulity of life is multi-dimensionl concept. Most of the reserchers re greed tht this concept included from two dimensions s objective nd subjective. However, these dimensions hve mny common similrities in different plces but in specific plce the certin chrcteristics of the new loction should be considered crefully for mesuring the qulity of life. CONCLUSION Since the concept of qulity of life is multidimensions nd involves with mny indictors, the multi criteri nlyze models re ble to provide n pproprite fretwork for mesuring nd investigtion. In the process of multi-criteri decision mking, the views of different groups could be considered in the stge of indictor weighting. So, this process cn help to mximize public prticiption in urbn decision mking. Also the model hs cler process nd fesible, it could be used for multi spects nlyze of urbn qulity of life concept. For exmple by pplying the model on the two northern cities, the dimensions of qulity of life, the importnce of them nd the preference of ech city ws determined which the results could be interpreted. In other words locl plnners nd uthorities cn direct the scrce resources towrds the spects of qulity of life which re more importnt nd the city gined fewer score in the process of investigtion. So the better lloction nd distribution of resources led to increse of urbn qulity of life. In the end it needs to be mentioned tht the im of reserch hs been to show the level of qulity of life in two smple cities. Obviously to interpret nd find the resons for the different results of two cities could be done in nother study. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The reserchers would like to pprecite the vicechncellor of reserch of Mzndrn University for their finncil supports. REFERENCES 1. Bni, R., Anthropocentric problem solving in plnning nd design, with nlytic hierrchy process. J. Arch. Plnn. Res., 22: &ETOC=RN&from=serchengine 2. Blomquist, G.C., M.C. Berger nd J.P. Hoehn, New estimtes of qulity of life in urbn res. Am. Econ. Rev., 78: Boyer, R. nd D. Svgeu, Plces Rted Almnc, Rnd McNelly, Chicgo, ISBN: , p: Chen, C.F., Applying the Anlyticl Hierrchy Process (AHP) pproch to convention site selection. J. Trvel Res., 45: Cheng, E.W.L., H. Li nd L. Yu, The Anlytic Network Process (ANP) pproch to loction selection: A shopping mll illustrtion. Construct. Innovt., 5: DOI: / Cicerchi, A., Mesures of optiml centrlity: Indictors of city effect nd urbn overloding. Soc. Indict. Res., 46: Clrk, D.E. nd R. Jmes Khn, The socil benefits of urbn culturl menities. J. Region. Sci., 28: DOI: /j tb01088.x 8. Cook, T., P. Flchi nd R. Mrino, An urbn lloction model combining time series nd nlytic hierrchicl methods. Mnge. Sci., 30: DOI: /mnsc Crouch, G. nd J.R. Ritchie, Appliction of the nlytic hierrchy process to tourism choice nd decision mking: A review nd illustrtion pplied to destintion competitiveness. Tour. Anl. 10: &ETOC=RN&from=serchengine 10. Dvidson, W.B. nd P.R. Cotter, The reltionship between sense of community nd subjective well-being: A first look. J. Commun. Psychol., 19: /bstrct 11. De Montis, A., P. De Toro, B. Droste-Frnke, I. Omnn nd S. Stgl, Criteri for qulity ssessment of MCDA methods. Proceedings of the 3rd Biennil Conference of the Europen Society for Ecologicl Economics, My 3-6, ESEE, Vienn, pp: Diener, E. nd E. Suh, Mesuring qulity of life: Economic, socil nd subjective indictors. Soc. Indict. Res., 40: Dissrt, J. nd S. Deller, Qulity of life in the plnning literture. J. Plnn. Litert., 15: DOI: /

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