Housing Infrastructure as a Determinant of Quality of Life in Selected Polish Smart Cities

Abstract

In the concept of the Smart City, the issue of quality of life of residents is strongly emphasized. In theory and practice, the quality of urban life is determined by a wide variety of factors. This article focuses on housing infrastructure as a determinant of the quality of life in selected Polish Smart Cities and seeks answers to the question: What is the level of variation in the availability and quality of housing infrastructure in the studied cities and against the provinces in which they are located? In solving the research problem formulated in this way, the following were used: (1) Indicators determining the quality and accessibility of housing infrastructure at the level of the studied cities and provinces; (2) a multiple case study (for eight cities from different regions of Poland); and (3) a comparative analysis conducted at the level of the cities and provinces in which they operate. The resulting analyses indicate that there are differences in the availability and quality of housing infrastructure at the level of smart cities and provinces representing the regional average. The analyzed cities—in all the criteria studied (except the area of the apartment)—dominate over the provinces, which means that they have larger and better housing resources than the rest of the region.