The impact of urban development policies on quality-of-life in Malta : a case study on Marsascala

Abstract

The concept of quality-of-life (QoL) has been a predominant feature throughout numerous urban and policy planning documents, including those of the Maltese Islands. This is mainly because one of the key goals of urban policies is to improve the QoL of residents, as a high QoL not only reflects well on a community’s overall well-being, but can help increase the competitiveness and liveability of a locality. Throughout this study, the relationship between urban QOL and policies was examined in order to explore how policy decisions can influence residents’ life satisfaction. This was accomplished by selecting the town of Marsascala as a case study, and utilising various objective and subjective indicators within a quantitative questionnaire. The responses were then analysed using various techniques such as those of Ferrans and Powers (1985). A hierarchy was produced illustrating the numerous aspects of urban living in Marsascala and both their satisfaction and importance scores. For example, the increase in building heights was found to have the highest dissatisfaction and importance whilst residents were very satisfied with the number of restaurants and entertainment outlets. These aspects were then compared to their related policies, to assess whether they have been successful in improving QoL. The results of this study can therefore aid policy makers in their decision making, as it provides an assessment of how different policies can and have impacted QoL.