Urban-Rural Differences in Quality of Life across the European Union

Mark Shucksmith (1) , Stuart Cameron (2) , Tanya Merridew (2) , Florian Pichler (3)

1 APL
2 School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape
3 Sociology

This paper analyses the European Quality of Life Survey 2003, to explore urban-rural differences in income, deprivation, and other life domains. The main conclusion is that the richest countries in the EU show little evidence of significant urban-rural differences, whereas, in the poorer countries of the east and south, rural areas have a much lower level of perceived welfare and quality of life, particularly in the candidate countries. Despite this, subjective well-being is not significantly different, and this paradox is explored through multi-level modelling. The paper concludes by considering the policy implications for rural policy, urban policy and cohesion policy.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Mark Shucksmith, Stuart Cameron, Tanya Merridew, Florian Pichler. Urban-Rural Differences in Quality of Life across the European Union. Regional Studies, 2009, 43 (10), pp.1275-1289. ⟨10.1080/00343400802378750⟩. ⟨hal-00538020⟩