Commission survey analyses quality of life

15th of June 2010
Commission survey analyses quality of life

The European Commission has released the results of a Eurobarometer opinion poll looking at how citizens view the quality of life in 75 major European cities. It revealed that availability of jobs and housing remain dominant concerns in these challenging economic times. However areas such as healthcare, transport, pollution, climate change, security and trust were also high on the agenda for citizens.

It was generally felt by many participants that air pollution is a major problem for cities. They were also questioned about how they perceived cleanliness and in Oviedo (Spain), Piatra Neamt (Romania) and Luxembourg almost all respondents agreed that they lived in a clean city (96-97 per cent). In more than a third of the surveyed cities, however, less than half of respondents agreed their city was clean.

The lowest proportions were seen in Palermo, Budapest, Sofia and Athens - less than one sixth of interviewees in these cities somewhat or strongly agreed that they lived in a clean city (between 13 and 17 per cent). Almost six in 10 respondents in Palermo, Sofia and Athens strongly disagreed that their city was clean (58-59 per cent).

A majority of cities do seem to have made progress with cleanliness in recent years - Marseilles, Naples, Malmo and Stockholm have all seen improvements in perception. However Athens, Palermo and Brussels were the main exceptions to this positive trend.

Interestingly, cities that were described by their inhabitants as being clean were also the ones where a larger proportion always felt safer.

 

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