Discussion: Quality of Life: Perspectives

The word city conjures up many images, drawn from personal experience and perhaps influenced by characterizations in film, literature, or other cultural expressions. Your expectation for how life should be lived may also come from multiple perspectives. Do citizens refer to a nostalgic past? Were things really better in the past? Is the economy attracting new residents? How is the city adjusting to the influx? In this Discussion, you define quality of life in a city through a particular perspective.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Read “The Secrets of the World’s Happiest Cities” and “Cities: Places Sacred, Safe, and Busy,” located in this week’s Resources area.
• View the media in this week’s Resources area, Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Urban Studies.

By Day 3

Post a 250-word response that explains the best perspective through which to define quality of life in a city. Choose from the following perspectives:

• Commerce
• Public Health
• Culture/Religion
• History

In your post, be sure to:

• Use the place you live to provide real-life examples of how quality of life can be measured.
• Refer to one specific example from your course reading.

Note: Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to the week’s Learning Resources or something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ postings that contain a perspective other than yours.

• Explain how your colleagues’ perspectives can either:
  • Align with or compliment your perspective, or
  • Contrast with or be in opposition to your perspective.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned, and/or any insights you have gained, as a result of the comments your colleagues made.