Quality of life in the big city (the case Dnipro city)

Abstract

The article discusses the heuristic possibilities of objective and subjective approaches to determiningthe quality of life of individuals in modern society. In order to construct a measurement of the quality oflife of the population, objective and subjective indicators were defined in this perspective: quantitativeones that record the presence or absence of a certain property and qualitative ones that record the extentof its manifestation and development. For the empirical representation of the quality of life of residentsof the city of Dnipro, data from sociological studies, the «Dnipro – my hometown» and the fourth all-Ukrainian municipal IRI survey were used.Possibilities and conditions for self-realization of the person are characterized, subjective level ofevaluation of strategies of success, professional prospects, achievement of material well-being in theurban space is determined through the prism of age differentiation. Positive shifts in the perception of thecity as an inclusive space (the spread of inclusive education, the opening of children’s and playgrounds,which take into account the needs of children with disabilities , etc.) have been noticed.Characteristics of urban social life were determined through fragmentation, disunity, decentralization,dehumanization. They are becoming the markers of modern society. These processes affect the emotionalinternal state of the individual and determine the sphere of his social fears. The main factors that causeanxiety and fear in the mass consciousness of the residents of the city are related to economic issues –rising prices, loss of work, closure of enterprises. The structure of expenditures and the assessment ofwell-being, as well as the level of satisfaction with material goods, have been determined. The subjectivecharacteristic of the labor market and opportunities to engage in entrepreneurial activity are provided. Thegeneral summary of the quality of life in Dnipro is presented in the Summary of Capability AssessmentIndex.