An introductory review to the Special Issue: Attractive Places to Live

Presently, almost 75% of Europeans live in cities and urban areas, and this figure is expected to rise an additional 5% by 2020 (European Commission, 2010). Therefore, it is not surprising that national governments across Europe are committed to making their cities more attractive and sustainable in order to increase citizens’ quality of life, now and in the future (DETR, 2000; European Commission, 2010; ODPM, 2005; Urban Task Force, 1999). But what makes an attractive urban living environment? Attraction is a subjective preference and people of different ages, cultures and gender, for example, may have diverse views on what is attractive. Accordingly, the elements that contribute to making places attractive to live in are wide ranging and may be different for each person. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that the attractiveness of an urban area appears to centre on the quality of life of its users (Van den Berg et al., 1999). In order to increase quality of life, principles of good urban design, planning, regeneration and sustainable communities are widely promoted (DETR and CABE, 2000; DTLR and CABE, 2001; ODPM, 2003a, 2005; Urban Task Force, 1999). Good urban design is central to creating high-quality and attractive places to live (DETR and CABE, 2000; DTLR and CABE, 2001). Well-planned, well-designed and well-managed living environments are likely to create a far superior quality of life than for those who live elsewhere (DTLR and CABE, 2001).

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