Quality of life in central cities and suburbs

This study shows that there has been a statistically significant shift in the quality of life (QOL) in central cities of the 25 largest metro areas relative to their suburbs since 1980. This follows actual improvement of central cities in the '50s, followed by steady degradation in the '60s and '70s. These conclusions are based on a statistical analysis of key variables derived from a revealed preference conception of QOL. This is an important methodological advance, since relevant variables for directly constructing hedonic measures of QOL normally are unavailable for central cities. The basic Census data used in the analysis also indicate that the observed ''turnaround'' is evident without respect to size of metro area within the set of 25 largest and without respect to region of the country.