Eindhoven University of Technology
MASTER
Measuring quality of life on a regional level applying a measurement framework for sustainable development on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
Hoogerwerf, J.M.
Award date: 2020
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Measuring quality of life on a regional level
Applying a measurement framework for sustainable development on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
J.M. Hoogerwerf Student number: 1369288
Supervisors: Dr. ir. F.C.A. Veraart Prof. dr. J.P.H. Smits Prof. dr. ir. H.W. Lintsen
Eindhoven, Thursday 9th July, 2020
Abstract
In recent years, the Dutch government and parliament use the monitor of well-being from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) to gather insights in quality of life within the country. The monitor of well-being is based on the internationally recognised recommendations regarding sustainable development from the Conference of European statistics (CES). It is developed to analyse quality of life on a national level. However, policy makers and academics are arguing for the need of a regional monitoring tool. The aim of this research is to analyse how the CES-recommendations regarding sustainable development can be used to develop a regional monitoring tool. Such a monitoring tool allows for informed decision making in regional policy developments. The CES-recommendations for sustainable development are re-framed to analyse quality of life on a regional level. The resulting regional framework is applied to the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven (MRE). The themes, indicators and the results of the regional framework are compared to the perspective of the MRE. The re-framed CES- recommendations are in principle applicable on a regional level. The results show that for the most part the CES-recommendations and the regional perspective overlap. There are different focus points on both sides which could be solved by adding additional themes and indicators. Furthermore, a regional monitoring tool based on the CES-recommendations, enables regional policy developers to include all aspects regarding quality of life. The outcomes of such a monitor can allow for informed decision making in policy, but also regarding inter-municipal collaboration. Using a regional monitor over time can help assess the impact of new policies.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level iii
Executive summary
In recent years there is an increasing acknowledgement that economic metrics like GDP are not comprehensive enough to serve as an indicator for progress. The objective for progress is an increase in quality of life. Quality of life consists of material and immaterial aspects. Furthermore, it has a strong connection with sustainability and global relations. To allow for a consisting measuring method, the Conference of European Statistics (CES) has developed a framework to analyse sustainable development on a national level. The Central Bureau of Statistics of the Netherlands has used this framework to develop a national monitoring tool to measure quality of life. The monitor is being used by the Dutch government and parliament. Analysing quality of life on a national level does not provide any information regarding the differences within a country. Large differences can hide within the average of a country. Also, quality of life which is experienced by people is mostly determined by their direct living environment. The direct living environment is mostly shaped by regional characteristics instead of national ones. Therefore, regional monitoring tools are also important for analysing quality of life accurately. Furthermore, the results of a regional tool can help regional policy developments. To that end, the aim of this study is to analyse how the framework from the CES can be used to develop a regional monitor to analyse quality of life. This monitor needs to allow for informed decision making regarding regional policy developments.
To answer the research question, a case study is performed. This study uses the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven (MRE) as the case study. The first step of this research is to analyse the meaning of quality of life and its relation to a regional approach. This is done by analysing academic literature. The second step is to re-frame the framework developed by the CES to make it applicable on a regional level. The third step is to apply the re-framed framework to the MRE. The fourth step is to analyse quality of life from a regional perspective, the perspective of the MRE. This is done by using a political discourse analysis. The final step is to compare the framework with the perspective of the MRE. The gaps and overlap provide an indication for the applicability of the CES-framework. In addition, it allows for policy implications.
The results show that the MRE has a similar quality of life compared to the Netherlands and the province of North-Brabant. Differences only occur when looking at the different sub-regions and municipalities within the MRE. This indicates that a regional tool needs to analyse quality of life on a municipal level as well as to capture the differences and support policy developments accurately. The results from the political discourse analysis showed a large influence on municipal policy agendas by cooperation’s in the MRE. For the most part there are similarities between the
Measuring quality of life on a regional level v region and the framework presented by the CES. However, there are some differences in focus points and not all themes of the regionalised CES-framework are present in the political discourse. Also, themes considered of high importance in the MRE-region are not included in the framework. There were three different types of policy implications that resulted from the study. First, a regional tool would support the usage of an inclusive perspective regarding quality of life in regional policy developments. Second, the resulting performance of a region allows for informed decision making on a local government level. This applies to policy developments but also to cooperation’s between regions and/or municipalities. Third, the usage of a monitoring tool over time allows for a trend analysis. This can be used to assess the effects of new policies.
This study concludes that the framework from the CES can be used to develop a regional monitoring tool which analyses quality of life. Furthermore, this framework can support informed decision making regarding regional policy development. The CES-recommendations are considered to be the foundations for developing a regional monitoring tool. However, some additions regarding themes and indicators have to be made to make it fully applicable on a regional level.
vi Measuring quality of life on a regional level Samenvatting
In de afgelopen jaren wordt er steeds vaker ingezien dat economische indicatoren zoals het Bruto Binnenlands Product (BBP) niet uitgebreid genoeg zijn om te dienen als indicator voor vooruitgang. Samenlevingen willen met vooruitgang een betere kwaliteit van leven cre¨eren. Kwaliteit van leven bestaat uit materi¨eleen niet materi¨eleaspecten. Daarnaast heeft het een sterke link met duurzaamheid en internationale relaties. Om een consistente manier van meten mogelijk te maken, heeft de Conferentie van Europese Statistiek (CES) een raamwerk ontwikkeld om duurzame ontwikkeling te analyseren op een nationaal niveau. Het Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) van Nederland heeft dit raamwerk gebruikt om een nationale monitor te ontwikkelen dat kwaliteit van leven meet. Deze monitor wordt gebruikt door de Nederlandse overheid en het parlement. Het analyseren van kwaliteit van leven op een nationaal niveau geeft geen informatie met be- trekking tot de verschillen binnen een land. Daarnaast wordt de beleving die mensen hebben over de kwaliteit van hun leven vaak bepaald door de directe omgeving waarin ze leven. Deze directe omgeving wordt voornamelijk bepaald door regionale in plaats van nationale karak- teristieken. Daarom zijn regionale monitoren ook belangrijk om kwaliteit van leven accuraat te analyseren. Verder kunnen de resultaten van zo’n monitor regionale beleidsontwikkelingen ondersteunen. Om die redenen heeft dit onderzoek het doel om te analyseren hoe het raam- werk van CES gebruikt kan worden om een regionale monitor te ontwikkelen. Een regionale monitor moet ge¨ınformeerdebesluitvorming voor regionaal beleid kunnen ondersteunen.
Om de onderzoeksvraag te beantwoorden is er een casestudie uitgevoerd. De Metropool Regio Eindhoven (MRE) wordt hiervoor gebruikt. De eerste stap van dit onderzoek is het analyseren van de betekenis van kwaliteit van leven en de relatie die het heeft met een regionale aanpak. Deze stap is uitgevoerd door middel van een literatuur onderzoek . De tweede stap is om het raamwerk van de CES te hervormen zodat het toepasbaar is op een regionaal niveau. De derde stap is om het hervormde raamwerk toe te passen op de MRE. De vierde stap is het analyseren van kwaliteit van leven vanuit een regionaal perspectief, het perspectief van de MRE. Deze analyse bestaat uit een politieke discourse analyse. De laatste stap is het vergelijken van het raamwerk met het perspectief van de MRE. De verschillen en de overeenkomsten geven een indicatie voor de toepasbaarheid van het CES-raamwerk. Ook leveren ze implicaties op voor beleid.
De resultaten laten zien dat de MRE regio een kwaliteit van leven heeft die nauwelijks ver- schilt van Nederland en de provincie Noord-Brabant. Verschillen treden op wanneer de sub- regio’s en gemeenten binnen de MRE worden geanalyseerd. Deze resultaten suggereren dat een regionale monitor kwaliteit van leven op een gemeentelijke niveau moet analyseren om beleidsmakers zo goed mogelijk te ondersteunen.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level vii De resultaten van de politieke discourse analyse laten een grote invloed van de samenwerkings- verbanden in de regio zien. Voor het overgrote deel zijn er overeenkomsten tussen de regio en het raamwerk van de CES. Echter zijn er verschillen in interpretatie. Daarnaast zijn niet alle thema’s van het raamwerk aanwezig in de politieke discourse en vice versa. Er zijn thema’s die de regio belangrijk vindt die niet aanwezig zijn in het raamwerk. Er zijn drie verschillende soorten beleidsimplicaties die resulteren uit dit onderzoek. Ten eerste, een regionale monitor draagt bij aan het gebruik van een inclusief perspectief met betrekking tot kwaliteit van leven in het regionale beleidsdebat. Ten tweede, de resultaten van een regionale monitor ondersteunen ge¨ınformeerdebesluitvorming op regionaal niveau. Dit is niet alleen van toepassing op beleidsontwikkeling maar ook op het vormen van samen- werkingsverbanden tussen regio’s en/of gemeenten. Ten derde, het gebruik van een regionale monitor over een langere tijdsperiode maakt een trend analyse mogelijk. Deze analyse kan worden gebruikt om de effecten van nieuw beleid te analyseren.
Deze studie concludeert dat het raamwerk ontwikkeld door CES gebruikt kan worden om een regionale monitor te ontwikkelen. Zo’n monitor kan ge¨ınformeerde besluitvorming in regio’s ondersteunen. De aanbevelingen van CES worden gezien als de fundering waarop een regionale monitor ontwikkeld kan worden. Echter, aanvullingen op de thema’s en indicatoren van het raamwerk zijn nodig om een monitor te ontwikkelen die kwaliteit van leven in een regio accuraat analyseert.
viii Measuring quality of life on a regional level Preface
I have studied innovation sciences ever since I finished high school. I started with a Bachel- ors degree at the University of Utrecht which I obtained in 2018. During the three years of my Bachelors program, I developed an interest for sustainable development. The following academic year, I started with a Masters program for innovation sciences at the University of Technology Eindhoven. During my Masters program I followed lectures regarding sustainable development as well. At the beginning of the second year, I went on a foreign exchange program to the University of Iceland. During my time there, I followed classes and atten- ded seminars regarding sustainability to broaden my perspective regarding this topic. There was one fundamental difference in the perspective of the lectures which I attended in Ice- land compared to my earlier sustainability lectures. There was a clear connection between sustainability and wellbeing. The focus was placed on well-being instead of on technological developments. This perspective spoke to me and has been the motivation for the topic of my Master Thesis.
When I contacted Frank Veraart and explained my interest in wellbeing, he was enthusiastic and agreed to be my supervisor. I would like to thank him for his support, enthusiasm, ideas and constructive feedback. He also introduced me to Harry Lintsen and Jan-Pieter Smits who have significant expertise regarding well-being. I would like to thank them as well for their guidance and support. Also, I want to thank a few people from the MRE; Thomas Voncken, Rene Miesen, Mark van den Broek and Kevin Lierop. I had some interesting conversations with them which were useful to this study and they provided me with additional information. Furthermore, this study could not have been performed without the data provided by Telos. Finally, I would like to thank my boyfriend Nick Diepstraten for his never ending support during this period.
Johanna Maria Hoogerwerf Eindhoven, 15th June 2020
Measuring quality of life on a regional level ix
Contents
1 Introduction1
2 Theory and Methodology4 2.1 Measuring progress...... 4 2.2 Quality of life and sustainability...... 5 2.3 Monitoring tool for quality of life...... 6 2.3.1 The monitor of well-being...... 7 2.3.2 Working principle...... 7 2.4 Regional monitoring...... 8 2.5 Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven.9 2.5.1 Regionalizing the CES-recommendations...... 10 2.5.2 Trend analysis...... 14 2.5.3 Discourse analysis...... 14
3 The Metropolitan Region Eindhoven 17 3.1 What is the Metropolitan Region of Eindhoven?...... 17 3.1.1 Brainport...... 19
4 The performance of the MRE-region 21 4.1 Here and now...... 22 4.1.1 Consumption and income...... 22 4.1.2 Nutrition...... 25 4.1.3 Health...... 26 4.1.4 Labor...... 27 4.1.5 Education...... 28 4.1.6 Housing...... 29 4.1.7 Physical safety...... 30 4.1.8 Land and ecosystems...... 30 4.1.9 Water quality...... 32 4.1.10 Air quality...... 33 4.1.11 Trust...... 34 4.1.12 Institutions...... 36 4.2 Later...... 37 4.2.1 Energy sources...... 37 4.2.2 Economical capital...... 38
Measuring quality of life on a regional level xi CONTENTS
4.3 Elsewhere...... 41 4.4 Trend analysis...... 44 4.4.1 Here and now...... 44 4.4.2 Later...... 47
5 Comparing the MRE-region to the CES-recommendations 50 5.1 Policy regarding quality of life in the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven.... 50 5.1.1 Brainport...... 50 5.1.2 The MRE-cooperation...... 51 5.1.3 The municipalities...... 54 5.2 The comparison...... 55 5.2.1 Matches...... 55 5.2.2 Interfaces...... 56 5.2.3 Not a match...... 58 5.3 The dimension ‘elsewhere’...... 59 5.4 Policy implications...... 60
6 Conclusion 62
7 Discussion 66
References 69
Appendix 72
A Dashboards CES-recommendations for sustainable development 72
B Regionalized dashboards based on the CES-recommendations for sustain- able development 76
C Methodology to determine deviations 83
D The regional monitoring tool from Telos 85
E List of documents used in the discourse analysis 87
xii Measuring quality of life on a regional level List of Figures
2.5.1 Flowchart showing the re-framing process from national to regional...... 10
4.1.1 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme economical parti- cipation for the MRE-region...... 23 4.1.2 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme waste and resources for the MRE-region...... 24 4.1.3 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme income for the MRE- region...... 25 4.1.4 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme nutrition for the MRE- region...... 26 4.1.5 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme health for the MRE-region 27 4.1.6 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme labor for the MRE-region 28 4.1.7 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme education for the MRE- region...... 29 4.1.8 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme housing or the MRE-region 30 4.1.9 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme physical safety for the MRE-region...... 31 4.1.10Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme soil for the MRE- region...... 32 4.1.11Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme nature and land- scape for the MRE-region...... 33 4.1.12Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme water quality for the MRE-region...... 34 4.1.13Barchart presenting the z-values regarding the theme air quality for the MRE- region...... 35 4.1.14Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme trust for the MRE-region 36 4.1.15Barchart presenting the z-values regarding the theme institutions for the MRE- region...... 37 4.2.1 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme energy sources for the MRE-region...... 39 4.2.2 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme knowledge capital for the MRE-region...... 40 4.2.3 Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme financial capital for the MRE-region...... 41
D.0.1The underlying structure of the National Monitor Sustainable Cities from Telos 85
Measuring quality of life on a regional level xiii
List of Tables
2.5.1 Presentation of the themes and sub-themes used to analyse the performance of the MRE-region regarding the dimension ‘here and now’...... 12 2.5.2 Presentation of the themes and sub-themes used to analyse the performance of the MRE-region regarding the dimension ‘later’...... 13 2.5.3 Presenting the initial and additional labels used for the political discourse ana- lysis...... 15
3.1.1 The 21 municipalities of which the MRE-region consists with the corresponding sub-regions...... 18
4.0.1 Categorising the different z-values into average, deviating slightly and deviating significantly...... 21 4.1.1 Performance of the MRE-region regarding the dimension ‘here and now’... 22 4.2.1 Performance of the MRE-region regarding the dimension ‘later’...... 38 4.3.1 Performance of the rural area and the urban area as defined by the MRE- cooperation, compared to the average of the MRE-region...... 42 4.3.2 Presenting the performance of the four sub-regions regarding the themes health, labor, housing and nature and landscape compared to the average of the MRE- region...... 43 4.3.3 Performance of the urban centres Eindhoven and Helmond and the rural area compared to the average of the MRE-region...... 44 4.4.1 The average yearly growth for each sub-region regarding the themes and sub- themes of the dimension ‘here and now’ expressed in percentages...... 45 4.4.2 The average yearly growth for each municipality regarding the themes and sub-themes of the dimension ‘here and now’ expressed in percentages..... 46 4.4.3 The average yearly growth for each sub-region regarding the themes and sub- themes from the dimension ‘later’ expressed in percentages...... 47 4.4.4 The average yearly growth for each municipality regarding the themes and sub-themes of the dimension ‘later’ expressed in percentages...... 48
5.2.1 Presenting the (sub-)themes from the CES-recommendations regarding the di- mension ‘here and now’ in connection to the priorities expressed in political discourse...... 56 5.2.2 Presenting the (sub-)themes from the CES-recommendations regarding the di- mension ‘later’ in connection to the priorities expressed in political discourse 57
Measuring quality of life on a regional level xv LIST OF TABLES
5.3.1 Presenting the themes, sub-themes and interpretation of the dimension ‘else- where’ from the CES-recommendations for sustainable development..... 59
A.0.1The themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘here and now’ from the CES-recommendations...... 73 A.0.2The themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘later’ from the CES-recommendations...... 74 A.0.3The themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘elsewhere’ from the CES-recommendations...... 75
B.0.1The re-framed themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘here and now’...... 77 B.0.2The re-framed themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘later’...... 81
C.0.1Categorizing the different z-values into average, deviating slightly and deviat- ing significantly...... 83
E.0.1Presenting all documents used for the discourse analysis...... 88
xvi Measuring quality of life on a regional level Chapter 1
Introduction
The Central Bureau of Statistics of the Netherlands (CBS) has developed a monitoring tool to analyse quality of life in the Netherlands: the monitor of well-being (CBS, 2019). This monitor resulted from the request of the Dutch government for a monitoring tool that goes beyond economical measurements related to economic growth. This request was the result of an increasing acknowledgement that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is not comprehensive enough to serve as an indicator for quality of life. The Dutch government wanted to use a tool that incorporates a broad view on quality of life to support informed decision making. The monitor of well-being is held in high regards by the Dutch government. The results of the monitor are used to support and steer policy developments. Furthermore, the results are presented on the accountability day of the Dutch national government. On this day the house of representatives looks at its achievements from the previous year. The monitor of well-being is used to show the developments (or the lack of developments) regarding quality of life in the country. Overall, the monitor of well-being is used to measure progress in the Netherlands. Noticeably, the monitoring tool from the CBS is not only considered to be of importance by the Dutch government, it is also internationally recognised. This is due to the usages of the recommendations of the Conference of European Statistics (CES) for sustainable developments (Sandijk van, 2018).
There is increasing demand for a regional monitoring tool in addition to a national one. A national monitoring tool provides the averages of a country, but large differences can hide behind this average (Smits & Horlings, 2019). Furthermore, the quality of life that people experience is for a large part determined by their direct living environment (Raspe & Stam, 2019; Raspe et al., 2019). The direct living environment is shaped by regional characteristics. Therefore, regional governments are interested in a measurement tool regarding quality of life as well. Similar to the monitor of well-being, applying a measurement framework on a regional level could allow for informed decision-making for regional policy developments. However, the CES-recommendations, and by extension the monitor of well-being, are developed to measure quality of life on a national level. It is not clear if the themes and indicators presented by the CES-recommendations can fully capture quality of life on a regional level. Furthermore, it remains uncertain if the results from such a monitor are useful for regional policy making.
The aim of this study is to account for the direct living environment when analysing quality of life and to make a connection with local policy developments. Due to the strong theoretical foundation and international recognition of the CES-recommendations, they are used as the
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 1 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
starting point for analysing quality of life on a regional level. Therefore, the corresponding research question is:
How can the CES-recommendations for sustainable development be used to develop a monitor, that analyses quality of life on a regional level to allow for informed decision making regarding regional policy developments?
To answer the research question, this study applies the CES-recommendations to a region in the Netherlands. The results are compared with a regional perspective and corresponding policies regarding quality of life. Due to this comparison the CES-recommendations can be altered (if needed) to fit with quality of life on a regional level. In addition, it allows for an analysis of the contributions to policy making. The region used in this study is the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven (MRE). This region is selected based on its unique inter- municipality collaboration to increase the quality of life in the MRE-region.
There are six sub-questions that need to be answered before the main research question can be answered. The first step to answer the research question is to analyse the meaning of quality of life in scientific literature. This is important because it forms the foundation of the CES-recommendations. The corresponding sub-research question is: What is quality of life? Second, how quality of life should be measured needs to be analysed as well. The correspond- ing sub-research question is: How should quality of life be measured? Third, the need for a regional monitoring tool in addition to the national one needs to be analysed. This need should go beyond the interest of regional governments and have a found- ation in academic literature. The corresponding sub-research question is: Why should quality of life be analysed on a regional level in addition to a nation level? The first two analyses are both based on a academic literature review. They form the literary foundation for this study. Fourth, the CES-recommendations have to be re-framed to make them applicable on a regional level. The re-framing process is part of the methodology of this research. The corresponding sub-research question is: How can the CES-recommendations for sustainable development be used to analyse quality of life on a regional level? Fifth, the re-framed CES-recommendations are applied to the MRE-region to analyse its quality of life. The corresponding sub-research question is: How is quality of life in the MRE- region according to the CES-recommendations for sustainable development? Sixth, the perspective of the MRE-region regarding quality of life is analysed. This perspect- ive is based on political discourse in the region. The results show what the region considers to be of importance regarding quality of life and how it relates to policy developments. The corresponding sub-research question is: What is the perspective regarding quality of life of the MRE-region? Finally, differences between the CES-recommendations and the perspective of the MRE-region is analysed. Gaps and overlap provide an indication regarding themes and indicators that are important for a monitoring tool on a regional level. The corresponding sub-research question is: What are the differences between the CES-recommendations for sustainable development and the perspective of the MRE-region?
The results of this research can help the CBS (and others) to develop a regional monitoring tool. By identifying differences and similarities, the CES-recommendations can be adapted to form the foundation of a regional monitoring tool. It can help policy makers in the MRE-
2 Measuring quality of life on a regional level CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION region to gather insights into the performance regarding quality of life and how it fits with their current policy objectives. Furthermore, it can help the region better understand all aspects regarding quality of life. As a result, municipalities can address aspects of quality of life which are currently overlooked or not considered to be of importance. Finally, this research contributes to the growing body of literature regarding the effects of regional factors on quality of life.
The research starts with a theory and methodology chapter. This chapter discusses the academic literature regarding quality of life and the method developed and used by this study. Second, an overview of the MRE-region is provided. This chapter contains how the region operates and its goals regarding quality of life. The next chapter presents the results from applying the re-framed CES-recommendations on the MRE-region. This is followed by a chapter presenting the results from the political discourse analysis. This chapter also discusses the similarities and differences between the perspective of the MRE-region and the CES-recommendations. It is ended with a discussion of the policy implications. The conclusion of this study, to answer the research question are presented in the next chapter. Finally, this study ends with a discussion chapter. All chapters end with a concluding section and announce the following chapter.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 3 Chapter 2
Theory and Methodology
This chapter discusses the relevant theory regarding this research and the resulting methodo- logy. First the connection between quality of life and sustainability is discussed. This section provides an answer to the first sub-research question; What is quality of life? This is followed by the need for consistent monitoring tools and the recommendations for sustainable devel- opments from UNECE. This section provides the answer to the second sub-research question; How should quality of life be measured? Next, the importance of a regional monitor is argued. This section provides the answer to the third sub-research question; Why should quality of life be analysed on a regional level? This results in the methodology of this research. The methodology starts with re-framing the CES-recommendations for sustainable development to make them applicable for a regional analysis. This section is used to answer the fourth sub- research question; How can the CES-recommendations for sustainable development be used to analyse quality of life on a regional level?. This is followed by the method for applying the CES-recommendations on the MRE-region. In addition, a trend analysis is performed. These two approaches combined are the method used to answer the fifth sub-research question; How is quality of life in the MRE-region according to the CES-recommendations for sustainable development? The final part of this chapter presents the method for the political discourse analysis. These methods are used to answer the sub-research question; What is the perspective regarding quality of life of the MRE-region?. The results from the CES-recommendations and the discourse analysis combined answer the final sub-research question; What are the differ- ences between the CES-recommendations for sustainable development and the perspective of the MRE-region?
2.1 Measuring progress
Societies are interested in measuring their own progress (Stiglitz et al., 2009). This is not new but emphasised when societies become more performance-oriented and are expecting results. The collective actions of society are guided by politicians at the request of the people. The end goal appears to be a higher living standard. To achieve this, economic growth and social objectives are taken into account. However, paying attention to social objectives sometimes has a negative effect on economic objectives. According to Stiglitz et al.(2009) this does not have to be the case because economic activities are a means to an end. This end is a higher living standard. If social objectives have a negative effect on the economy, Stiglitz et
4 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Quality of life and sustainability al.(2009) suggest that there might be a problem with the economic measurements.
Around the world, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is used to determine the prosperity and welfare of a nation or region (CBS, 2019; Costanza et al., 2014; Stiglitz et al., 2009; Giannetti et al., 2015). This metric was developed in the 1930s and 1940s (Costanza et al., 2014). It is an indicator for the well-being of the economy and measures mainly market transactions. A growing economy is considered to be synonymous with a growing quality of life (Giannetti et al., 2015).
In recent years there is increasing acknowledgement that GDP is not comprehensive enough to serve as an indicator for quality of life (Giannetti et al., 2015; UNECE, 2014; Stiglitz et al., 2009). Even the main architect of GDP, Simon Kuznets, warned governments from the start that economic growth was not a substitute for quality of life (Costanza et al., 2014). Quality of life is not just about material and economical aspects. It also includes social, cultural and ecological aspects like health, housing, biodiversity, energy, trust in institutions and satisfaction in life. This perspective on quality of life has become a global consensus in recent years (OECD, 2014; UNECE, 2014).
2.2 Quality of life and sustainability
In 1987 the Brundtland Report was prepared by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). This report presented the definition of sustain- able development which is recognised internationally and is widely used as the foundation of sustainable development (UNECE, 2014). The Brundtland Report defined it as follows: “Sustainable development is a development which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (Keeble, 1988, p. 423). The definition of sustainable development accounts for an inter-generational dimen- sion. This means that choices that are made in the present can have consequences for future generations (Solow, 1986; Hartwick, 1977). For example, future generations need resources to maintain their quality of life. Depleting resources and/or polluting them has an impact on fu- ture generations. In addition to the inter-generational dimension of sustainable development, the Brundtland Report also argues for an inter-regional dimension (Keeble, 1988). Due to globalisation, transboundary impacts are increasingly important. Choices that are made in one region can have effects on other regions. This means that developments in one area can have effects on the ability of another area to develop as well. For example, resources from one area can be extracted to serve another part of the world. This has effects on the quality of life in the extraction regions. These effects can be both positive and negative. Trading does extract resources from areas but it also provides working opportunities and income. The Brundtland Report argues that development can only be considered to be sustainable when it accounts for the effects on future generations and on other regions.
The concept of sustainability is about maximizing the current quality of life without com- promising future generations or other regions. “Meeting human needs and increasing quality of life may be regarded as the ’development’ part of sustainable development” (Ekins et al., 2008, p. 64). By maintaining it inter-regional and inter-generational, the sustainability as- pect comes in. Quality of life is no longer considered to be about material prosperity, but about happiness and well-being. Within political debate and scientific literature, the terms
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 5 Monitoring tool for quality of life
happiness and well-being are almost used as synonyms to quality of life (Stiglitz et al., 2009). The United Nations defines it as follows: “A broad concept which is not confined to the utility derived from the consumption of goods and services, but is also related to people’s functioning and capabilities (i.e. the freedom and possibilities they have to satisfy their needs)” (UNECE, 2014, p. 5). It goes beyond the economical and material aspects of life and includes the im- material aspects as well. The concept of sustainability is the foundation of looking at quality of life. By broadening the perspective it places the focus on citizens and the environment in which they live (Stiglitz et al., 2009). As a result, there is a strong connection between quality of life and sustainability (UNECE, 2014).
Capital are assets used to generate quality of life (UNECE, 2014). Based on the definition of sustainability, these assets are not only needed in the present, but also in the future for future generations. In addition, the development and preservation of capital should not have a negative impact on capital of other regions. The concept of capital originates from the economic production literature (Solow, 1956). This concept has developed into four different types of capital: economic capital (Solow, 1956), human capital, natural capital (Faber et al., 1995) and social capital (Bourdieu, 1986). When considering quality of life, all 4 types of capital are included (UNECE, 2014). However, there is debate regarding the ability to substitute one type of capital for another; trade-offs (Hartwick, 1978; Pearce & Atkinson, 1993; Gut´es, 1996).
According to Pearce & Atkinson(1993) there are two different points of view regarding these trade-offs: weak and strong sustainability. Weak sustainability considers natural capital to be a substitute of man-made capital and vice versa. When applying the concept of weak sustainability, a society or economy is sustainable if the total capital stock is non-decreasing. This concept allows for the trade-off between the different types of capital as long as the sum is non-decreasing. This implies that there are no real differences between the well- being generated by man-made and natural capital. Strong sustainability considers man-made capital to be unable to substitute natural capital and vice versa. Noticeably, the concept perceives natural capital to be critical for the future.
The concept of weak and strong sustainability can be applied to quality of life. On average the quality of life can be increasing. However, this increase can be at the expense of other aspects of quality of life. Developing one aspect of quality of life at the expense of others now or in the future, goes against the inclusiveness of the concept. To understand, analyse and help improve quality of life, these trade-offs need to be made visible. Hence, they need to be considered when analysing quality of life.
The content of this section provides the answer to the sub-research question; What is quality of life? Since the meaning of the concept quality of life has become clear, the next step is to analyse how quality of life should be measured.
2.3 Monitoring tool for quality of life
Since the publication of the Brundtland Report, methods and indicators to measure sustain- able development have been developed in academic literature and are adopted by national statistical offices (UNECE, 2014). According to the UNECE, these initiatives have helped placing sustainable development on the agenda, nationally and internationally. Only, large
6 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Monitoring tool for quality of life differences between approaches remained. Therefore, the Conference of European Statistics (CES) has developed recommendations regarding the measurements of sustainability in 2014. The UNECE follows the definition of sustainability as presented in the Brundtland Report. They acknowledge the inter-generational and transboundary aspects of sustainability. The recommendations are build on concepts put foreword in academic literature. These concepts are discussed earlier in this chapter. As a result, the framework of the CES-recommendations consist of three dimensions: ‘here and now’, ‘later’ and ‘elsewhere’. The recommendations are meant to assist countries in measuring sustainable development. In addition to the frame- work, the recommendations consists of sets indicators. This includes indicators that can be used for international comparison. Nota bene, the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’ can have overlapping themes and/or indicators because they are relevant for both dimensions. The dimension ‘later’ is expressed in the available capital for the future. For economic and natural capital the current stocks can be transferred to future generations. With knowledge, human and social capital the transfer- ence is based on path dependency. Path dependency is based on the notion that the available options are limited due to decisions made in the past. Hence, the performance of themes and indicators from the dimension ‘here and now’ can also have an effect on the potential for quality of life in the future. This results in an overlap of themes and indicators for the two dimensions. Even though the themes are measured in the same way, the interpretation of the results is different.
2.3.1 The monitor of well-being In 2015, the Dutch government asked its Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) to develop a mon- itor that can analyse quality of life beyond GDP. The CBS used the CES-recommendations to co-found an international measuring system that can capture the complexity of quality of life (Smits & Horlings, 2019). The CBS re-framed sustainability into a broad version of prosperity, called the monitor of well-being (‘Brede Welvaart’). It analyses quality of life on a national scale. It is a tool that serves a broader public and political debate, providing an indication of the current shape of quality of life (Sandijk van, 2018). The monitor was first published in 2018 and immediately adopted by the Dutch government (Smits & Horlings, 2019). By applying to the CES metric system, the monitor uses a common languages that can be used internationally. This makes the monitor applicable for countries all around the world and allows for comparisons between them (CBS, 2019)1. Due to its common language, the monitor of well-being has received wide recognition internationally; 65 statistical offices around the world have endorsed the monitor (Sandijk van, 2018).
2.3.2 Working principle The CBS complies to the underlying academic literature of the CES-recommendations (CBS, 2019). Therefore they acknowledge trade-offs in time and location. They are the foundation of the monitor of well-being. Due to this, the monitor consists of the same dimensions as the CES-recommendations: ‘here and now’, ‘later’ and ‘elsewhere’. The ‘here and now’ dimension of the monitor describes the current state regarding quality of life. The ‘later’ dimensions
1This is desirable for a measuring tool that competes with GDP. After all, being applicable and measurable for all countries has contributed greatly to the success of GDP (Smits & Horlings, 2019).
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 7 Regional monitoring
describes the effects the national lifestyle has on future generations. The dimension ‘elsewhere’ describes the effects a country has on other regions in the world. Each dimensions has its own set of indicators. Some indicators are relevant for multiple dimensions. Therefore, there is some overlap regarding indicators between dimensions. These indicators are selected by the CBS based on the CES-recommendations, national and international literature and surveys filled out by Dutch citizens. The selected indicators only describe first order effects. However, the CBS does recognise that trade-offs happen within and between the different types of capital. These trade-offs are discussed in the monitor as well.
Due to the usage of many indicators, the monitor does not express quality of life with a single number like GDP does. The CBS does not perceive it to be possible to combine the different indicators objectively (Smits & Horlings, 2019). In addition, a single number would not show the complexity of quality of life. The CBS believes it to be key to show the different aspects to provide an overall impression. This also provides more insights into possible trade-offs. This way of structuring the monitoring tool is in line with the inclusiveness of the concept quality of life as presented in this chapter. In addition, by not aggregating indicators the monitor does not imply that one can be substituted for the other. As a result, the monitor does not exclude to concept of strong sustainability. It provides the option to use the results either way. The goal of the CBS is only to describe developments regarding quality of life. They do not indicate which developments are desirable and which are not. This is up to the government to decide.
The monitor of well-being is developed to be employed on a national level. As a result, it does not provide information for specific regions within a country. It is important to know how quality of life is developing in the Netherlands on average, but large differences can hide within an average. Some groups within a national society can experience a higher or lower quality of life compared to the average. The monitor tries to provide more insight into the equality of quality of life by showing it for different groups of people based on social- economical characteristics (CBS, 2019). It shows the difference in quality of life for people with different living circumstances. Another possible solution to this is to analyse quality of life on a regional level. Insights regarding quality of life on a regional level can be useful to provinces and municipalities and facilitate a political debate on a regional level.
This section answers to second sub-research question: How should quality of life be measured? The prominent and internationally recognised monitoring methods are developed to measure quality of life on a national level. This leads us to the next research question: Why should quality of life be analysed on a regional level?
2.4 Regional monitoring
For most people, quality of life is shaped by their direct environment (Raspe et al., 2019). Their daily experiences and social networks which shape their lives are mostly on a local level. The direct living environment is shaped by regional characteristics. They determine the strengths and challenges of a region which have their own effect on the quality of life of people living in that area. These conditions are often not similar to the average of the country and vary greatly between regions (OECD, 2014; Raspe et al., 2019). For example, an urban area has different strengths and challenges compared to a rural area. The ability of
8 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven people to find a job, a good school or the right type of healthcare are also connected to the direct living environment. Regarding economical aspects, there is uneven spatial distribution in most countries (Garretsen et al., 2013). Specifically regarding income and employment. It appears that these inequalities are increasing. The opportunities that are available tend to be region specific (Raspe et al., 2019). Regions play a crucial role in the perception of people’s own quality of life. This means that there is a geographical aspect in quality of life. Using a national monitoring tool limits this geographical aspect. Therefore, it is important to develop a monitor that works on a regional level. The CBS realises this as well. It contributes to the national averages by capturing the differences that are hidden within. They are currently developing a monitor of well-being on a regional scale.
In the Netherlands, the concept quality of life is not only used on a national level, but also on a regional, municipal level (Raspe & Stam, 2019). Regional coalitions have gained a more prominent role in the Netherlands since the Region Deals (Regio Deals). This regional form of policy requires a new knowledge infrastructure that can capture the effects on a regional scale. When regions are actively trying to improve the quality of life of their citizens, a monitoring tool is necessary. It can serve public and political debate and be the foundation on which policy is developed and monitored.
This section provides the answer to the sub-research question: Why should quality of life be measured on a regional level? At this point it has become clear that quality of life should be measured by using the CES-recommendations for sustainable development. Also, measuring quality of life on a regional level should be based on the CES-recommendations. Therefore, the next research question is: How can the CES-recommendations for sustainable development be used to analyse quality of life on a regional level?
2.5 Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
By connecting quality of life to the direct living environment, regional boundaries can vary and they can go very in depth. There are several options to define regional boundaries. This study uses the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven (MRE) as a case study to apply the CES-recommendations. The MRE-region consist of 21 municipalities. To analyse the region in more detail, these municipalities are analysed as well. Doing this provides insights in the distribution of quality of life within the MRE-region. The municipal level is the lowest regional level of this study. The comparison is made between regions, the MRE-region with the Netherlands and North-Brabant and between the municipalities of the MRE-region. This research does not analyse the municipalities in more detail by looking at different groups and regions within them. Looking at different groups and regions within the municipalities would be in line with the theory regarding the direct living environment but it is not within the boundaries of this study.
The CES-recommendations have a strong theoretical background and international recogni- tion. However, the CES-recommendations are not designed for a regional analysis. There- fore, this research re-frames the framework and the corresponding indicators to fit with the regional level of the MRE-region. During this process, the CES-recommendations are fol- lowed as closely as possible. There are no additions made to the national framework, it is
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 9 Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
only re-framed to make it applicable on a regional level. After the CES-recommendations are re-framed, they are applied to the MRE-region. In addition, a trend analysis and a discourse analysis are performed. The trend analysis is used to analyse the development of quality of life in the MRE-region over period of time. The discourse analysis is used to analyse the per- spective of the MRE-region regarding quality of life. Since no additions to the national version were made, it becomes possible to identify the mismatch between the CES-recommendations and the perspective of the MRE-region.
2.5.1 Regionalizing the CES-recommendations The starting point for re-framing the CES-recommendations to a regional level were the dashboards of the three dimensions2. The original dashboards are shown in appendixA. This study has tried to follow the CES-recommendations as well as possible during the re-framing process. To that end, all of the themes are present in the regional framework. The re-framing process is based on the flowchart presented in figure 2.5.1.
Data
Yes Apply
Applicable Match ? Yes Change & apply
No Convertible ?
No National indicators Not applicable
Yes Change & apply
Applicable but not Convertible ? suitable
No
Data
Figure 2.5.1: Flowchart showing the re-framing process from national to regional
Each indicator recommended by the CES was labelled: applicable, not applicable or applicable but not suitable. The indicators that were not suitable on the regional level of this study were not included. For example, the indicator official development assistance (ODA) is not suitable on a regional level. This is due to the national nature of (ODA). Indicators that are labelled applicable were compared to the data available to this study to see if there is a match or if the indicator needs to be adjusted. If an indicators is adjusted, the essence of the original indicator has been preserved. However, if no suitable data for the indicator can be found, the indicator can not be quantified in this study. These indicators are used for the qualitative analysis; the discourse analysis. Indicators that were labelled applicable but not suitable are adjusted based on the available data. Again, if no suitable data for the indicator could be found, the indicator can not be quantified in this study but is part of the discourse
2There are multiple sets, but this study has selected the small list of indicators.
10 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven analysis.
This study does not have access to all the data required to quantify all the indicators from the CES-recommendations. It is not an option to not include certain indicators due to lack of data. This would detract from the inclusiveness of the framework. Therefore, figure 2.5.1 depicts a lack of data as a exclamation mark. It is important to note the lack of available data and to come up with alternative ways to include the essence of all themes and indicators presented by the CES-recommendations.
The available data allowed for the re-framing of the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. However, the themes subjective well-being and leisure regarding the dimension ‘here and now’ could not be quantified. The same applies to the themes water resources and physical capital from the dimension ‘later’. These themes are not quantified, but are taking into account in the qualitative part of this study. The theme climate is not quantified because the indicators also classify for the theme air quality. The results of the re-framing process are presented in appendixB. Noticeably, there is some overlap between themes and indicators for the two dimensions. These overlaps are also present in the CES-recommendations and are inline with the academic literature. As mentioned earlier, they can be relevant for multiple dimensions.
The dimension ‘elsewhere’ could not be re-framed due to insufficient available data. Hence, there is no regional dashboard for this dimension. However, to be able to include the essence of this dimension, this study uses a different approach as is explained in section 2.5.1.
This section has presented the re-framing process that makes it possible to use the CES- recommendations to analyse quality of life on a regional level. Hence, it answers the sub- research question: How can the CES-recommendations for sustainable development be used tot analyse quality of life on a regional level? This is followed by the method to apply the regionalised framework on the MRE-region.
Applying the three dimensions on the MRE-region The framework created to analyse quality of life on a regional level is applied on the MRE- region. The dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’ are applied in according to the CES- recommendations. The dashboards for the two dimensions are filled in with regional data from Telos and the CBS. To put the outcomes in perspective, they are compared to the average of all the regions located in the same province and country as the MRE-region: North-Brabant and the Netherlands. It was not possible to re-frame the dashboard regarding the dimension ‘elsewhere’ and apply it according to the CES-recommendations. To be able to use this dimension, this research puts the dimension ‘elsewhere’ in a different perspective. This is explained in the corresponding section. This research only presents the results regarding the themes and sub-themes. This applies to all dimensions.
Here and now In general, the dimension ‘here and now’ represents the quality of life of the present generations in one particular region. In this study it represents the current performance of the MRE-region regarding quality of life. The re-framed dashboard is filled in regarding the MRE-region as a whole and the 21 individual municipalities. The indicators are normalised and the results are presented regarding the themes and sub-themes as presented
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 11 Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
in table 2.5.1. The outcomes are compared with the average of North-Brabant and the Netherlands to provide perspective. To analyse the comparison, the deviations need to be interpreted. This is done by assuming that the performance regarding in indicator is normally distributed. By using the characteristics of a normal distribution, different types of deviations can be calculated. The exact method is described in appendixC.
Table 2.5.1: Presentation of the themes and sub-themes used to analyse the performance of the MRE- region regarding the dimension ‘here and now’.
Theme Sub-theme Subjective well-being Consumption & income Average Economic participation Waste & resources Income Nutrition Health Labor Education Housing Leisure Physical safety Land & ecosystems Average Soil Nature & landscape Water quality Air quality Trust Institutions
Later The later dimension represents the well-being of future generations. The themes and indicators are used to analyse the current impact of the MRE-region on future generations. The analysis is performed for the MRE-region in general and the 21 individual municipalities. The indicators are normalised and present the performance regarding the themes and sub- themes as presented in table 2.5.2. Similar to the analysis regarding the dimension ‘here and now’, the outcomes are compared to the the province North-Brabant and the Netherlands. The interpretation of the differences is according to the same method as well. Noticeably, there is some overlap between the themes and the corresponding indicators. As explained in section 2.3, this is due to their relevance for both dimensions. The themes and indicators used are the same but the interpretation of them is different. For the dimension ‘later’ the themes represent the current capital stock which is transmitted to future generations.
Elsewhere Normally, the dimension ‘elsewhere’ is used to analyse the impact a region has on people living in other regions. Only, this dimension can also apply on the impact parts of a region have on other parts of that same region. In this case the MRE-region. Therefore,
12 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
Table 2.5.2: Presentation of the themes and sub-themes used to analyse the performance of the MRE- region regarding the dimension ‘later’.
Theme Sub-theme Human capital Average Health Labor Education Natural capital Average Soil Nature & landscape Water resources Climate & air quality Energy resources Mineral resources Social capital Average Trust Institutions Economic capital Average Physical capital Knowledge capital Financial capital this dimensions is used to analyse the internal effects on quality of life in the MRE-region. The focus is placed on the trade-offs between the urban and the rural areas of the MRE- region. The region divides itself into four sub-region. This is explained further in chapter The Metropolitan Region Eindhoven. The sub-region urban area (as defined by the MRE-region) is considered to be the urban area of the region. The other sub-regions are considered to be the rural area. This trade-off is about the quality of life of the current generations. Therefore, the themes and sub-themes which are compared are from the dimension ‘here and now’ as presented in table 2.5.1. The quality of life in the present is compared between the urban and rural area. The two regions are benchmarked against the average of the MRE-region. The method to analyse the differences is in accordance with the method of the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. With the exception of using the mean and standard deviation of the MRE-region in stead of the Netherlands and/or North-Brabant. A z-value of zero represents the average of the MRE-region.
Data For the re-framing process as well as to apply the framework on the MRE-region, regional data is required. Telos, the Center of Sustainable Development of Brabant, provided this study with the underlying data from their monitor: the National Monitor Sustainable Cities (NMSC). This is a regional monitoring tool for the Netherlands specifically designed to analyse quality of life on a regional level 3. However, the monitor from Telos is not developed based on the CES-recommendations. Therefore, additional data is required to allow for a better
3More information regarding the data from Telos is presented in appendixD.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 13 Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
match with the CES-recommendations. This data comes from the online database from the CBS: Statline. The publicly available data from the CBS in addition to the data provided by Telos enabled this study to apply the CES-recommendations on a regional level.
2.5.2 Trend analysis Applying the regional framework, created by this study only provides insight in the current state. Such a framework can also be used to analyse the developments over a period of time. By analyzing the performance over time, trends can be observed that indicate in which direction the region is heading. Normally, the framework is applied on a yearly basis, creating a timeline. This has not been the case for the MRE-region. Therefore, a timeline is created by filling in the framework with for multiple years. The outcomes provide an indication regarding the direction (positive or negative) the indicators are developing. In addition, it shows the magnitude of their development. This applies to the MRE-region as a whole and the individual municipalities. The development over time is expressed in the annual average growth in percentages.
The available data dictates the selected time period. The Telos’ data cover a five years time period: 2014 until 2019. Therefore, the time period analysed in this research ranges from 2014 until 2019. However, there are two exceptions. This study is not in possession of multiple data points regarding the (sub-)themes nutrition and nature and landscape. As a result, the data can not provide any insights in the developments over time. For this reason the themes nutrition and nature and landscape are excluded from the timeline.
Applying the CES-recommendations on the MRE-region and using them to perform a trend analysis is the method used to answer the sub-research question: How is quality of life in the MRE-region according to the CES-recommendations for sustainable development? The next step is to compare the CES-recommendations and the performance of the MRE-region with the regional political discourse.
2.5.3 Discourse analysis The discourse analysis is used to get a in depth understanding of the MRE-region regarding their perception of quality of life and to identify possible matches and mismatches between the regional framework and the perspective of the MRE-region. Political discourse is considered to be a good representation of aspects regarding quality of life that play on a regional scale.
The data used for the political discourse analysis are the coalition agreements of 2018 of all 21 municipalities and documents that outline visions, strategy and agreements from the MRE-cooperation. All used documents are presented in appendixE. These documents are analysed by using the coding program NVIVO. The content of the documents is interpreted by attaching labels to specific sections. The initial labels that are used are the (sub-)themes of the regional framework. In addition, if another interesting topic is encountered which is not included in the regional framework, a new label is created. These labels are created by this study and represent focus points of the MRE-region which are not included in the CES- recommendations. The initial and additional labels used are presented in table 2.5.3. At the end, all labelled content is analysed. This study looks at the number of times a label is used in the entire region, sub-regions and individual municipalities. Also, the specific content
14 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven in relation to a label is analysed. This provides insights in how the region interprets the different themes regarding quality of life. Namely, the approach regarding a certain theme within the region can deviate from the interpretation from the CES-recommendations.
Based on the political discourse important aspects regarding quality of life for the MRE-region are identified. These aspects are compared to the themes of the CES-recommendations. The comparison allows for three options: 1. There is a match between the political discourse and the themes presented by the CES-recommendations. 2. There is a match but both parties have different focus points. This can be solved by using different indicators. 3. There is no match because the themes from the framework are not present in the political discourse or vice versa. If themes are present in the political discourse but not in the regional framework, it provides an indication that the themes of the CES-recommendations might need to be expanded to capture quality of life on a regional level. In addition, when themes of the CES-recommendations are not present in the political discourse, this indicates that the MRE-region is overlooking that aspect of quality of life. The themes presented by the CES-recommendations are considered to be leading due to its strong theoretical background. However, it is possible that some of the themes do not apply on a regional level.
Table 2.5.3: Presenting the initial and additional labels used for the political discourse analysis.
Initial labels Additional labels Subjective well-being Mobility Consumption Facilities Income Youth Economical participation Waste Resources Nutrition Health Labor Education Housing Leisure Safety Ecosystems Soil Nature Water quality Air quality Trust Institutions Energy Physical capital Knowledge Financial capital
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 15 Applying the CES-recommendations on the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
This section provides the method used to answer the sub-research question: What is the per- spective regarding quality of life in the MRE-region? This perspective is needed to answer the final sub-research question: What are the differences between the CES-recommendations for sustainable development and the perspective of the MRE-region?. The corresponding method is presented in the final part of this section.
Conclusion
This chapter started by discussing academic theory regarding quality of life. The theory showed that quality of life is a good indicator to assess progress. Due to the strong con- nection between quality of life and sustainability, the CES-recommendations for sustainable development are a distinguished and internationally recognised way to analyse quality of life. These recommendations are developed to apply on a national level. Only, there is a strong connection between the direct living environment and quality of life. Therefore, there is increasing demand for a measurement tool which applies to a regional level. The question becomes if the CES-recommendations can be used to analyse quality of life on a regional level. Also, the connection with informed decision making regarding regional policy developments need to be considered. The rest of this chapter presents the method used to answer the research question. The first step is to re-frame the CES-recommendations to make them applicable on a regional level. This creates a regional framework which will be applied on the MRE-region to analyse its qual- ity of life. It will be applied by following the same dimensions as the CES-recommendations. For the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’ a comparison is made with North-Brabant and the Netherlands to place the performance of the MRE-region is perspective. The dimension ‘elsewhere’ is used to analyse the differences between the urban and rural area of the MRE- region. In addition to the three dimensions, an in-depth analysis is performed. This analysis consists of an trend analysis and a discourse analysis. The trend analysis provides insights in the developments from 2014 until 2019. To identify the similarities and differences between the CES-recommendations and the MRE-region, a political discourse analyses is performed. The underlying theory and methodology of this study are discussed in this chapter. The fol- lowing chapter presents an overview of the MRE-region. This overview forms the background for developments in the region.
16 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Chapter 3
The Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
To analyse the quality of life in the MRE-region, it is important to understand the perspective of the region. This chapter presents an overview of the MRE-region. The focus is placed on the different types of cooperation’s that are present in the region. This is due to their strong connection to the regional perspective regarding quality of life, which is presented in this chapter. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the MRE-region and its views regarding quality of life.
3.1 What is the Metropolitan Region of Eindhoven?
The MRE-region is located in the Netherlands in the province North-Brabant. It has an area of approximately 1458 km2 and is inhabited by approximately 780,000 people (Brainport Eindhoven, 2019). The region represents the second economy of the Netherlands and employs approximately 426,800 people of which 8500 are expats (Brainport Eindhoven, 2019, 2020). The cities Eindhoven and Helmond are the largest urban areas in the region. In total the MRE-region consists of 21 municipalities. The MRE is not just a geographical location (MRE- region), it is also a cooperation (MRE-cooperation) (Metropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). The MRE-cooperation is located in a wide landscape of cooperation’s that operate on different government levels. These levels are local, sub-regional, MRE and provincial. The local level refers to the individual municipalities. Each of them has its own government and local issues. The cooperation remains within municipal boundaries. The sub-regional level applies to the cooperation’s between municipalities. They cooperate regarding issues that are present in multiple municipalities and go beyond the boundaries of one municipality. The MRE represents the cooperation between all 21 municipalities to work on overarching issues that apply to the entire MRE-region. The provincial level applies to cooperation’s that exists within the entire province of North-Brabant. The cooperation’s go beyond the geographical location of the MRE.
The aim of the MRE-cooperation is to sustain and enhance the economic profile of the region (Metropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). Improving the direct living and working environment of the public and companies in a sustainable manner is leading. To achieve this, the MRE-
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 17 What is the Metropolitan Region of Eindhoven?
cooperation developed an agenda which is agreed upon by all 21 municipalities. This agenda focuses on four themes: economy, mobility, energy transition and the transition of rural areas. These are large and overarching themes that apply to the MRE-region as a whole. The agenda of the MRE-cooperation only focuses on themes that apply to the entire region. Other themes which can be equally important, are not part of the focus of the MRE but are supposed to be picked up by smaller partnerships and individual municipalities within the MRE-region. Within the cooperation agreement, agreements regarding aims and achievements are made regarding the four themes. Cooperation’s on a sub-regional and local level give substance to them on a smaller government level. Hence, policy on a municipal level is influenced by the MRE-cooperation.
The 21 municipalities of which the MRE consists, are divided into four sub-regions. These sub-regions with the corresponding municipalities are presented in table 3.1.1. All of the municipalities have their own characteristics. These characteristics are used to allocate the municipalities to a sub-region. The MRE prides itself on the contrasts between different parts of the MRE-region (van Dijk et al., 2017). The differences are considered to be assets and allows for urban areas, suburbs, small villages, areas filled with nature and historical heritage sites. According to the MRE-cooperation, the close proximity of these different land-uses is the strength of the region. Developing the region is based on exploiting the contrasts between the municipalities. The cities and the rural areas need to enhance each other. Therefore, different roles are reserved for different municipalities based on their characteristics.
Based on similar characteristics, the MRE-cooperation has divided the municipalities into different sub-regions as presented in table 3.1.1. The urban area is considered to be the center of the region. The other sub-regions function as the rural area to complement the center of the region; the urban area. The spacial strategy of the MRE-cooperation outlines a periphery role for the rural area focusing on nature reserves, recreational and leisure areas and agriculture (van Dijk et al., 2017). Noticeably, these different roles could have an effect on the quality of life in the two regions. This is interesting due to the analysis of the differences between the urban and rural area of the MRE-region for the dimension ‘elsewhere’.
Table 3.1.1: The 21 municipalities of which the MRE-region consists with the corresponding sub- regions
Kempen Peel A2-area Urban area Bergeijk Asten Cranendonck Best Bladel Deurne Heeze-Leende Eindhoven Eersel Gemert-Bakel Valkenswaard Geldrop-Mierlo Oirschot Laarbeek Helmond Reusel de Mierden Someren Nuenen c.a. Son en Breugel Veldhoven Waalre
It is not yet clear if the different roles have an impact on quality of life but they do have an impact on local policies similar to the cooperation agreement. They shape the imple- mentation for different items from the agenda of the MRE-cooperation. In addition, the
18 Measuring quality of life on a regional level What is the Metropolitan Region of Eindhoven?
MRE-cooperation recognizes that the developments based on collaboration requires giving and taking, which are not always equal (Metropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). However, the MRE-cooperation agreements states that there is no divide between the city and the rural area, the region is united, there is co-ownership of the problems as well as the success of the region, sub-regions and municipalities.
3.1.1 Brainport
The MRE-region is also referred to as the Brainport region. This is due to a different co- operation structure present in the region. This cooperation is between the government, the corporate sector and knowledge institutions, also called the triple helix. This collaboration strengthens the economic and innovation base of the region (OECD, 2013). Brainport is considered to be one of Europe’s high performing high-tech clusters. The strength of the region lies in key enabling technologies in high-tech systems, automotive, design, food and technology, and life-tech and health. The developments in the region are for a large part driven by business. As a result, the focus on economical growth is present within Brainport.
Reports issued by Brainport are mostly about economical development in the region. Placing the emphasis on economical growth has increased the economy beyond the average in the Netherlands (Brainport Eindhoven et al., 2019; Rijksoverheid, 2017). In 2018, their economy increased with 3.2 percent (Brainport Eindhoven et al., 2019). This is 0.5 percent more compared to the average economical growth of 2.7 percent in the Netherlands in 2018. In addition, the region is responsible for almost a quarter of all private R&D expenditures in the Netherlands. Noticeably, the economical developments of Brainport are also driven by the knowledge institutes and the government due to the triple helix.
For the most part, the MRE-cooperation fulfils the role of government within the triple helix. The national government is also involved. The triple helix cooperation is represented by Foundation Brainport (Brainport Development, 2020). All three segments of the triple helix are represented equally within the Foundation. They form the regional economic board of the MRE-region and they create the strategy regarding the triple helix cooperation. The execution of the strategy is led by Brainport Developments. It is an economic development company that assists the collaboration between the triple helix and helps them achieve stra- tegic targets. The company focuses on maintaining and enforcing the knowledge intensive ecosystem of the region. The MRE-cooperation is a large shareholder of Brainport Develop- ment and provides financial contributions. In addition, they provide the connection to the wishes, visions and ambitions of the individual municipalities.
The aim of Brainport is to enhance and speed up efforts that utilise the potential of the economic profile of the region. By enhancing the economy and enforcing the international competitiveness of the region, the developments can contribute to solving large societal is- sues that go beyond the MRE-region. Currently, the main focus is placed on the themes: health, mobility, energy and food. In addition, developing a variety of cultural and sport related services and creating and attracting high-tech talent are considered to be priorities (Rijksoverheid, 2017).
The MRE-cooperation has the ambition to develop the Brainport region to a large economical player on the international market (Metropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019; van Dijk et al., 2017).
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 19 What is the Metropolitan Region of Eindhoven?
They want to improve the living and working climate on a regional and local level (Brainport Eindhoven, 2020). In doing so, the region becomes more attractive for businesses, knowledge- workers and expats. This contributes to the economical activities in the region which in turn allow for improvement of the local living environment. Especially when the economical developments are focused on broad societal problems. Therefore, the economical strengths in the region, represented by Brainport, are considered to be instrumental in achieving a better living environment which has a direct effect on quality of life. To that end, there is a strong connection between the agenda of the MRE-cooperation and the agenda from Brainport.
Conclusion
This chapter presented an overview of the MRE-region as it defines itself. The overview showed that the MRE-region is largely controlled by two internal cooperation’s: the MRE- cooperation between the 21 municipalities and Brainport. The Brainport agenda is supported by the MRE-cooperation. Together, they have a large impact on the perception regarding quality of life in the MRE-region, The next chapter presents the results from applying the CES-recommendations on the MRE- region. In addition to the quantitative outcomes, a comparison is made with the political discourse regarding the (sub-)themes. After the three dimensions are applied, the results of the trend analysis are presented as well.
20 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Chapter 4
The performance of the MRE-region
This chapter discusses the quantitative results of applying the regional framework on the MRE-region. It provides an answer to the sub-research question: How is quality of life in the MRE-region according to the CES-recommendations for sustainable development? The results are divided into the different dimensions with their corresponding themes and sub- themes. First, the MRE-region and the corresponding municipalities are compared to the province North-Brabant and the Netherlands. This comparison is made for the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. The results are expressed in z-values regarding each theme and sub-theme. These values are an indication for the level of deviation. The different categories represented by the z-values are presented in table 4.0.1. The results for the municipalities and the sub-regions are shown in graphs. Within these graphs, a grey area is present. This area represents the z-values which are not an indication for a significant deviation. In addition, the quantitative results are compared to the results from the discourse analysis. Noticeably, there is overlap between the (sub-)themes from the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. As discussed in chapter Theory and Methodology, overlap occurs because they are relevant for multiple dimensions. The meaning of the (sub-)theme does differ between dimensions but the performance does not. Therefore, themes or sub-themes from the dimen- sions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’ that consist of the same indicators are not presented twice. However, the perspective regarding both dimensions is explained. The quantitative perform- ance for the overlapping (sub-)themes is only presented in section 4.1. Second, the performance of the urban and rural area is compared to the average of the MRE- region. This comparison is made regarding the dimension ‘elsewhere’. Finally, the results of the trend analysis are presented. These results show the developments of the themes and sub-themes from 2014 until 2019. They are expressed in yearly growth percentages.
Table 4.0.1: Categorising the different z-values into average, deviating slightly and deviating signi- ficantly
Category Positive z-value Negative z-value Average z < 0.5 z > −0.5 Deviating slightly 0.5 < z ≤ 1.5 −1.5 ≤ z < −0.5 Deviating significantly z > 1.5 z < −1.5
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 21 Here and now
4.1 Here and now
This section presents and discusses the outcomes of the regional dashboard ‘here and now‘ applied on the MRE-region. The outcomes for each theme and sub-theme are presented as z-values. The results for the MRE-region as a whole are presented in table 4.1.1. Also, the z-values of all 21 municipalities and the four sub-regions are presented for each (sub-)theme. These are presented in figures 4.1.1 to 4.1.15. Each of these figures consists of two sub-figures, a and b. The first one (a) shows the z-values for all 21 municipalities and compares them to the value of the MRE-region, its average. The second one (b) presents an aggregated z-value on a sub-region level. These values are also compared to the average of the MRE-region. Furthermore, a comparison is made between the performance of the region and the priorities present in policy.
Table 4.1.1: Performance of the MRE-region regarding the dimension ‘here and now’
z-value [−] Benchmark Benchmark Theme Sub-theme North-Brabant Netherlands Subjective well-being-- Consumption & income Average 0.4 1.0 Economic participation 0.4 1.4 Waste & resources 0.5 1.5 Income 0.4 0.2 Nutrition 0.7 0.7 Health 0.6 0.7 Labor 0.2 0.4 Education 0.6 1.1 Housing 1.1 0.7 Leisure-- Physical safety 0.4 0.3 Land & ecosystems Average 0.3 -0.3 Soil -0.3 -1.5 Nature & landscape 0.8 1.0 Water quality 0.0 -1.6 Air quality 0.0 -0.7 Trust 0.2 1.3 Institutions 0.0 -0.1
4.1.1 Consumption and income
Economical participation The sub-theme economical participation is about the ability of people to participate equally in the economy. It looks at the number of poor households, long-term unemployment and unemployment payments made by the government. In addition, the sub-theme takes into account income inequalities.
22 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Here and now
The z-values that resulted from the statistical analysis regarding the sub-theme economical participation are presented in figure 4.1.1. It shows that the economical participation in the MRE-region is above the Dutch average, but it is similar to the average of North-Brabant. There are a lot of municipalities which deviate significantly. These municipalities are shown in figure 4.1.1a. Most of them are part of the sub-region the Kempen. This is shown in figure 4.1.1b. However, there are also some extreme negative deviations from both the average of the Netherlands and North-Brabant. The two largest cities of the MRE-region, Eindhoven and Helmond, are also the largest negative outliers. In addition, Geldrop-Mierlo, also part of the urban area, is considered to deviate significantly as well. Nevertheless, the entire sub-region only deviates significantly when compared to North-Brabant. This is due to the remaining municipalities that are part of the urban area.
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.1: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme economical participation for the MRE-region
The sub-theme economical participation is part of the social-economic focus regarding policy of the municipalities Eindhoven and Helmond. They have recognised this sub-theme to be a problem in their municipalities and have developed and executed a strategy to increase economical participation. The priority of Eindhoven and Helmond regarding this sub-theme based on a low performance fits with the results of this study. The other municipalities also give a high priority to this aspect of quality of life. However, not to the same extent.
Waste and resources The sub-theme waste and resources is used as a proxy for measuring consumption. The indicators used represent a wide range of different types of waste generated by households. The sub-theme is only about waste production, it does not include waste management or recycling. This sub-theme is also important for the dimension ‘later’. The same indicators are used to assess the sub-theme mineral resources. The same indicators are used but they are interpreted differently. For this dimension it provides an indication for consumption. This also
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 23 Here and now
impacts future generations because of resource depletion and waste generation. Therefore, the same indicators are part of both themes.
The resulting z-values regarding the sub-theme waste and resources are presented in figure 4.1.2. The data shows that on average the MRE-region positively deviates from the Dutch average. A lot of municipalities are deviating significantly in a positive way. This seems to be characteristic for the province of North-Brabant considering the slim deviation between the MRE-region and the province. In addition, when comparing to North-Brabant, only four municipalities are considered to be deviating significantly. However, there are also four municipalities that are deviating in a negative way. Furthermore, they are all deviating significantly when compared to North-Brabant. When the comparison is made with the Netherlands, only Eindhoven deviates to a large extent. Three out of those four are part of the urban area. Figure 4.1.2b shows that from all the sub-regions, the Kempen performs by far the best and is the only sub-region with a significant deviation.
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.2: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme waste and resources for the MRE-region
The sub-theme waste and resources is not part of the topics prioritised by the MRE-region. The concept of circular economy is part of the transition of rural areas. However, there is no large priority for waste generation and reduction. Nevertheless, on average the region performs well regarding this theme. Some municipalities have placed priority on waste reduction as part of their sustainability agenda. Among them are the low performing municipalities Eindhoven, Helmond, Best and Valkenswaard.
Income
The sub-theme income represents the average personal income. It is used in addition to economical participation to provide a better understanding of the average income in the MRE-region.
24 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Here and now
The z-values that resulted from the analysis regarding the sub-theme income are presented in figure 4.1.3. Overall, the MRE-region performs slightly better regarding average personal income compared to the Netherlands and North-Brabant. However, due to the slim deviation, the performance is considered to be average. When looking at the individual municipalities, there are large differences within the average of the MRE-region. The large deviations are all positive ones. There are some negative deviations but they are not of significance. Compared to North-Brabant, Heeze-Leende, Nuenen, Someren and Waalre are performing remarkably better. When comparing with the Netherlands, only Waalre deviates significantly. When looking at the sub-regions as defined by the MRE-region, none of them deviates significantly.
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.3: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme income for the MRE-region
The priority placed on the economical developments regarding Brainport does not result in significantly higher incomes in the region. This only applies to a small number of municipal- ities. Interestingly, most of these municipalities are part of the urban area.
4.1.2 Nutrition The theme nutrition considers the percentage of people which are obese. A high percentage of people with obesity is considered to be negative. Hence, a low performance means a high percentage of obese people. A high performance is equal to a low percentage of people with obesity.
The results regarding the theme nutrition are presented in figure 4.1.4. It shows that on average, there is barely any difference between North-Brabant and the Netherlands regarding the theme nutrition, but the MRE-region scores a bit above these averages. However, not all the municipalities in the MRE-region perform as well. Most of the municipalities perform approximately average or slightly better. There are three municipalities that perform signi- ficantly better than the average. These municipalities are Eersel, Nuenen and Waalre. They are the top three of the MRE-region and perform much better than North-Brabant and the
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 25 Here and now
Netherlands. Two of them are part of the sub-region the urban area. On the other hand, Bladel and Helmond perform under the average of the province and the country. Both are part of a different sub-region. Only Helmond deviates significantly in a negative way. Figure 4.1.4b shows that there is not a lot of difference in the performance of the sub-regions. None of them performs significantly different compared to the Netherlands or North-Brabant.
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.4: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme nutrition for the MRE-region
Nutrition is not part of quality of life prioritised by the MRE-region nor by any of the individual municipalities. It appears that there is no need to focus on on this theme within the MRE-region based on the average performance. However, the low performance of Helmond indicates that the municipality might benefit from a higher priority regarding nutrition. In addition, municipalities that are close to a z-value of zero or lower might benefit from placing nutrition on the agenda as well.
4.1.3 Health The theme health is measured by a wide range of indicators which cover different aspects of health. There are indicators that look at how healthy people are. For example, life expectancy, and healthcare costs. In addition, there are indicators that provide an indication of the quality of the healthcare system. For instance, the distance to a hospital and quality of hospitals. There is also an indicator that considers the perceived health of the people themselves. Noticeably, health is part of two dimensions: ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. It does not only impact the current quality of life of people, but also their ability and/or potential to have a good quality of life in the future.
The resulting z-values of the statistical analysis regarding the theme health are presented in figure 4.1.5. The MRE-region as a whole performs slightly better in terms of health regarding North-Brabant and the Netherlands. The municipalities Asten, Nuenen and Waalre are the only once’s that deviate significantly. Figure 4.1.5b shows that none of the sub-regions deviates significantly.
26 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.5: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme health for the MRE-region
The theme health is considered to be a priority by all of the municipalities in the MRE-region in one way or another. Most of the municipalities already perform well regarding this theme, but it is still presented as a priority in the coalition agreements of 2018. The focus of Helmond is placed on decreasing the inequality of health in the municipality (Municipality Helmond, 2018). This inequality might be the reason for the slightly low performance. Valkenswaard is prioritising a healthy lifestyle (Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018). However, this does not necessarily match with all the indicators used to measure health as recommended by the CES-recommendations.
4.1.4 Labor The theme labor is about employment and the labor force. It takes into account indicators such as the employment rate, but also incapacitated people and the percentage of elderly. Noticeably, labor is also part of the dimension ‘later’ as part of the human capital. Jobs are important for people regarding their current quality of life. The performance of the theme labor is also important for people’s ability to have a good quality of life in the future. Therefore, the same theme and indicators are used for both dimensions, but the interpretation is different.
The resulting z-values regarding the theme labor are shown in figure 4.1.6. It shows that there is no difference between the MRE-region, North-Brabant and the Netherlands. Figure 4.1.6a does show differences between the municipalities. It is almost an even split between the positive and the negative z-values. However, the municipalities that deviate in a negative way are not significant. The municipalities Bladel, Eindhoven, Oirschot and Son en Breugel are performing significantly better. Best and Veldhoven are in a grey area, it depends on the comparison if the deviation is significant. Figure 4.1.6b shows that none of the sub-regions are performing significantly different from the average of the Netherlands or North-Brabant.
The theme labor is important to the MRE-region, especially in relation with Brainport. How-
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 27 Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.6: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme labor for the MRE-region
ever, not all municipalities have placed it high on the agenda. For some of the municipalities like Son en Breugel this might be because they are performing well regarding this theme. On the other hand, Eindhoven is performing even better and the municipality does consider labor to be a high priority (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018). As a sub-region the A2 region underperforms slightly, but Valkenswaard and Cranendonck mentioned the theme labor as a focus point in their coalition agreements. Both are focusing on a better connection between people who are unemployed and the job market (Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018; Muni- cipality Cranendonck, 2018). The municipality Heeze-Leende does not mention labor as a priority in the latest governing term (Municpality Heeze-Leende, 2018).
4.1.5 Education The theme education is about primary and high school. It includes indicators about the infra- structure of the facilities, grades and drop outs. The theme also considers youth employment due to its educational values. Noticeably, the theme is part of the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. Education contributes to the ability and potential to have a good quality of life in the present. Furthermore, it effect the ability and potential of people to have a good quality of life in the future. Therefore, this theme is part of the both dimensions.
The results regarding the theme education are presented in figure 4.1.7. The data shows that on average North-Brabant performs slightly better regarding the theme education than the Netherlands does. The MRE-region performs on average compared to North-Brabant. However, this does not apply to all the municipalities in the MRE-region. The municipalities Geldrop-Mierlo and Helmond deviate significantly in a negative way. Both of them are part of the sub-region the urban area. Figure 4.1.7a also shows a large number of municipalities that perform significantly above average. Most of them are part of the urban area as well. When looking at the performance of the sub-regions, the A2 region is the only one that stands out.
28 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.7: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme education for the MRE-region
Within the MRE-region education is considered to be important to attract and keep talent. The priority regarding this theme does not appear to be the result of an underperforming region. Also, the two municipalities with negative z-values both have the theme education on the agenda (Municipality Helmond, 2018; Municipality Geldrop-Mierlo, 2017).
4.1.6 Housing
The theme housing is not just about available and affordable housing. It also considers the direct living environment in which the house is located. For example, it includes facilities and satisfaction of the living environment.
The z-values that resulted from the analysis regarding the theme housing are presented in figure 4.1.8. This figure shows that the MRE-region performs slightly better compared to North-Brabant and the Netherlands. Between the municipalities are large differences. Figure 4.1.8a shows that almost all municipalities deviate in a significant manner. This can be positive or negative. The municipality Geldrop-Mierlo performs by far the best regarding the theme housing. All of the municipalities that are part of the sub-region the Kempen deviate in a negative way. As a result, the Kempen as a whole underperforms significantly. This holds for both comparisons. Figure 4.1.8b shows that sub-region the Peel and the urban area have approximately the same value. It does not matter if they are compared to North-Brabant or the Netherlands, both sub-regions perform significantly above average.
The MRE-region focuses on affordable housing which matches different wants and needs. Building sustainable houses in becoming increasingly important as well. The sub-region the Kempen recognised its low performance regarding housing (Tiggeloven & Gijsbers, 2019). To deal with this the municipalities cooperated and developed a housing agenda to address the problem. The final strategy was formalised in 2019.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 29 Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.8: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme housing or the MRE-region
4.1.7 Physical safety The theme physical safety indicates how safe a certain region is. This safety is assessed by looking at the occurrence of different types of crimes. It also includes traffic safety and the reaction time of the police. They also impact the physical safety of a region. In addition to indicators that provide information about the safety of a region, the perceived safety of people is also included.
The z-values that resulted regarding the theme physical safety are presented in figure 4.1.9. It shows that there is no difference between the average of the MRE-region, North-Brabant and the Netherlands. However, figure 4.1.9a shows that there are large differences within the MRE-region. There are a number of municipalities that perform significantly above average. On the other hand, there are two large negative deviations: Eindhoven and Helmond. Their performance resulted in a negative performance for their sub-region, the urban area. However, this deviation is to small and is considered to be non-deviating. Figure 4.1.14b shows that non of the sub-regions deviated significantly.
All 21 municipalities have included physical safety as one of its focus points even though the data indicates a good performance regarding this theme. The Kempen in collaboration with Best, Veldhoven and Waarle joint forces regarding the physical safety and developed a safety policy for the entire sub-region (Municipality Bergeijk et al., 2019). Both Helmond and Eindhoven have extensive policies regarding physical safety but perform nonetheless significantly below average.
4.1.8 Land and ecosystems
Soil The sub-theme soil provides an indication of the quality of the soil. Most of the indicators are about different types of pollution. In addition, hardened surface such as asphalt is taking
30 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.9: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme physical safety for the MRE- region
into account as well. Noticeably, the sub-theme soil is part of the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. Soil quality is important for current quality of life because it has a direct effect on the environment. Furthermore, the quality of the soil is important for the good and services it can provide. This does not only apply to availability in the present (the direct effects on the environment), but also for the availability in the future.
The resulting z-values regarding the sub-theme soil are presented in figure 4.1.10. The data shows that the entire MRE-region underperforms quite a bit regarding the sub-theme soil when compared with the Netherlands. Figure 4.1.10a shows that most of the municipalities underperform as well. Eindhoven and Geldrop-Mierlo had the lowest performance of all. However, there is no difference in performance compared to North-Brabant. This indicates that this is not a problem specific to the MRE-region, but to the entire province. There are some municipalities that outperform North-Brabant. These are: Bergeijk, Heeze-Leende, Oischot and Reusel de Mierden. Three of them are part of the sub-region the Kempen. This is also visible in figure 4.1.10b. It shows that sub-region the Kempen is the only region that deviates in a positive way when compared to North-Brabant. However, the deviation is not significant. The only sub-region that deviates significantly is the urban area.
The sub-theme soil fits with one of the agenda points of the MRE-cooperation: transition of the rural areas. Almost all of the municipalities are experiencing a soil quality which is below average. However, the theme soil does not appear to be a priority by it self within the transition agenda (Metropool Region Eindhoven, 2020). It is part of the agenda due to its connection to biodiversity, food production and water quality.
Nature and landscape The sub-theme nature and landscape is about the quality of nature. This is determined by looking at biodiversity, including endangered species. Also, the naturalness of the landscape
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 31 Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.10: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme soil for the MRE-region
is considered. Noticeably, this sub-theme is part of the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. This is due to its impact on current quality of life as well as on quality of life in the future. Similar to the quality of the soil, biodiversity and naturalness of the landscape proved goods and services for human societies. The current state of nature and landscape impacts these goods and services in the present but also the ability to provide them in the future.
The resulting z-values regarding the sub-theme nature and landscape are presented in figure 4.1.11. The data shows that there are no negatively deviating municipalities. Overall, the MRE-region performs a bit better compared to North-Brabant as well as to the Netherlands. There are four municipalities that perform significantly above average for both comparisons: Eindhoven, Heeze-Leende, Valkenswaard and Waalre. Two of them are part of the urban area and two are part of the A2 region. The effects of this are seen in figure 4.1.11b. The A2 sub-region is the only region that deviates significantly. Similarly to the sub-theme soil, nature and landscape also fits with the aim of the transition of rural areas. The results show that the region is already performing well regarding this sub-theme. Nonetheless, nature and landscape has become a priority of the entire region due to the MRE-cooperation.
4.1.9 Water quality The theme water quality is straight forward. All the indicators contribute to the assessment of water quality by looking at different substances, flora and fauna.
The results of the analysis regarding the theme water quality are presented in figure 4.1.12. The results show that even though there is no difference in performance compared to North- Brabant, there is a large negative deviation compared to the Netherlands. Figure 4.1.12a shows that most of the municipalities underperform significantly when compared to the Netherlands. Asten received by far the lowest score. However, there are some municipal- ities that deviate significantly in a positive way. Bergeijk and Valkenswaard both performed
32 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.11: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme nature and landscape for the MRE-region
significantly better than the average compared to North-Brabant as well as compared to the Netherlands. In addition, Eersel outperforms North-Brabant but not the average of the Neth- erlands. Figure 4.1.12b show that the sub-region the Peel has the lowest performance and underperforms significantly compared to North-Brabant as well as compared to the Nether- lands. In addition, the urban area also underperformed significantly when compared to the Netherlands.
The theme water quality is part of the agenda due to the focus on the transition of the rural area. As a result, all municipalities have included it as a focus point for policy development. The large differences between municipalities and sub-region as presented in figure 4.1.12 suggests that different approaches are needed. This also depends on the characteristics of the region. For example, urban areas like Helmond and Eindhoven focus mostly on water management by decoupling rainwater from the sewers and implement green areas to allow the water to reach the soil (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018). This is different from approaches from municipalities with large woods and/or nature reserves like Reusel de Mierden (Staro, 2009).
4.1.10 Air quality
The theme air quality is just as straight forward as the theme water quality. All of the indicators used assess the quality of the air by analysing the level of different substances in the air. The concentrations as well as the emissions are taking into account. Noticeably, air quality is in addition to the dimension ‘here and now’ also part of the dimension ‘later’. A good air quality is important for quality of life in the present because of its effects on people and the environment. Furthermore, it also effects quality of life in the future. Similar to the sub-themes soil and nature and landscape, air quality provides (direct and indirect) goods and services. The state of air quality in the present determines the potential of air quality in
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 33 Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.12: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme water quality for the MRE- region
the future. Which in tern effects the goods and services provided by a good air quality in the future which impact quality of life in the future.
Figure 4.1.13 presents the resulting z-values regarding the theme air quality. There is no difference between the MRE-region and North-Brabant. In addition, there is a slight negative difference between the MRE-region and the Netherlands. Figure 4.1.13a shows that there are large differences between the municipalities. Most municipalities have a large deviation compared to North-Brabant and compared to the Netherlands. Figure 4.1.13 shows that most of the negative performing municipalities are part of the Kempen, the Peel or the A2 sub-region. The urban area is the only sub-region with a positive performance. It deviates significantly when compared to North-Brabant.
Even though only the urban area performs well regarding the theme air quality, only some municipality mention air quality as a focus point in their coalition agreements. Furthermore, almost all of them are part of the urban area. Eindhoven and Helmond have the most extens- ive agenda regarding air quality which is mostly related to traffic in the city (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018). This also applies to Waalre (Municipality Waalre, 2018). In addition to traffic in the city, Eindhoven also mentions air traffic in connec- tion with air quality policies which is also mentioned by Veldhoven (Municipality Veldhoven, 2018). Gemert-Bakel and Heeze-Leende are are the only municipalities which are not part of the urban area and included air quality as a priority. In both cases the policies are related to agriculture based on health or nuisance due to smell (Municpality Heeze-Leende, 2018; Municipality Gemert-Bakel, 2018).
4.1.11 Trust The theme trust is about the quality of inter-personal relationships which builds up trust, trust people have in society and its social systems. This is analysed by looking at participation of
34 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Here and now
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.13: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme air quality for the MRE-region
people in society. The participation is analysed by looking at indicators such as social cohesion and social contacts. Noticeably, this theme is part of the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. For the present, the theme trust is important because inter-personal relationships are important for peoples well-being and therefore for their quality of life. Trust also contributes to the norms and values of society. These norms and values are important for a proper functioning of society and are not easily changed. Therefore, the theme trust also affects the potential for quality of life in the future.
The results regarding the theme trust are presented in figure 4.1.14. The data shows that there is a large difference in the average regarding societal participation between North-Brabant and the Netherlands. North-Brabant appears to perform better regarding this theme. The same difference is present when comparing the MRE-region with the Netherlands. In addition, there is no difference compared to North-Brabant. It appears that a good performance regarding societal participation is not specific for the MRE-region but for the entire province. However, there are two exceptions within the MRE-region: Eindhoven and Helmond. These large urban areas of the MRE-region underperformed significantly. Both of them are part of the sub-region the urban area. Due to their low performance, the average of the sub-region becomes negative when compared to North-Brabant. However, this deviation is not significantly. Figure 4.1.14b shows that the non of the sub-regions outperform the average of North-Brabant. However, the Kempen and the Peel do perform significantly better compared to the Netherlands.
The topic trust has a connection with societal participation and cohesion. These are top- ics that have a large presence on the agenda from Eindhoven and Helmond (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018). Some of the other municipalities do mention related topics and all of them state that they are aiming for an equal society with equal opportunities and participation. However, the agendas remain very limited. This might be due to the performance of the region in general and of most of the municipalities. The only exceptions are Eindhoven and Helmond which appear to be targeting this problem.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 35 Here and now
(a) The z-values for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.14: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme trust for the MRE-region
4.1.12 Institutions The theme institutions is about the trust people have in the political system. This is analysed by looking at the number of people who are political active. Also, the turn out at elections is included. Noticeably, this theme is also part of the dimension ‘later’. The reasoning behind the inclusion for both dimensions is similar to the theme trust. Trust in institutions is important for peoples participation is society which affects their quality of life. Similar to the theme trust, it also generates shared norms and values which have long term impacts on quality of life.
Figure 4.1.15 presents the results regarding the theme institutions. The data shows that there is no difference between the MRE-region, North-Brabant and the Netherlands. Overall, there is barely any difference within the MRE-region. The exception being Helmond. The municipality underperforms significantly. As a result, the sub-region the urban area under- performed slightly. However, figure 4.1.14b shows that all of the sub-regions received a value that indicates no deviation.
The theme institutions is present on the political agenda in the MRE-region, only not with the specific aim of high election turnout. It is about creating trust by including citizens in policy developments and projects of the local governments. Most of the municipalities have included citizen participation as one of the focus points. Furthermore, all of them included a section regarding the governance of the region. The municipalities are open regarding their agendas and decisions.
36 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Later
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.1.15: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme institutions for the MRE-region
4.2 Later
This section presents and discusses the results of the dashboard regarding the dimension ‘later’ applied on the MRE-region. Table 4.2.1 presents the resulting z-values for the MRE- region as a whole. In the table the overlapping (sub-)themes are labelled with an asterisk. Due to overlap of indicators regarding the dashboards ‘here and now’ and ‘later’, only the results regarding the (sub-)themes energy sources and economical capital are presented on a municipal and sub-regional level. The results regarding these themes are presented in figures 4.2.1 to 4.2.3. Each of these figures consists of two sub-figures. The first one presents the z-values for all 21 municipalities. The second one presents the z-values on a sub-regional level. Both figures include the average of the MRE-region as well.
4.2.1 Energy sources
The sub-theme energy sources is part of the theme natural capital. It includes indicators that analyse energy consumption (gas and electricity) and indicators that analyse renewable energy generation. A large energy consumption is considered to be negative. A high level of renewable energy is considered to be positive. These two types of indicators combined provide an indication of the energy sources a region has.
The results regarding this sub-theme are presented in figure 4.2.1. The data shows that the performance of the MRE-region is the same as the average of North-Brabant and does not deviate significantly from the average of the Netherlands. However, half of the municipal- ities that are part of the MRE-region performed below the average of North-Brabant and the Netherlands. Approximately half of them underperformed significantly. Most of these municipalities are part of the sub-region the Peel. This is also reflected in figure 4.2.1b. The Peel is the only sub-region that deviates significantly in a negative way. Moreover, the Peel is the only sub-region that deviates significantly at all. Noticeably, there is one positive outlier:
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 37 Later
Table 4.2.1: Performance of the MRE-region regarding the dimension ‘later’
z-value [−] Benchmark Benchmark Theme Sub-theme North-Brabant Netherlands Human capital Average 0.5 0.7 Health* 0.6 0.7 Labor* 0.2 0.4 Education* 0.6 1.1 Natural capital Average 0.2 0.2 Soil* -0.3 -1.5 Nature* & landscape 0.8 1.0 Water-- Climate & air quality* 0.0 -0.7 Energy resources 0.0 0.7 Mineral resources* 0.5 1.5 Social capital Average 0.1 0.6 Trust* 0.2 1.3 Institutions* 0.0 -0.1 Economic capital Average 0.9 1.4 Physical capital-- Knowledge capital 0.5 1.0 Financial capital 1.3 1.7
Eindhoven. In addition, most of the municipalities that have a good performance are part of the urban area. This is also reflected in figure 4.2.1b.
Within the MRE-region the energy transition is considered to be important for the quality of life in the region. However, most of the municipalities are not performing well regarding the theme energy sources. Even though the indicators used are in line with the ambitions regarding the energy transition of the MRE-region by focusing on sustainable energy and consumption. The focus of the MRE-region regarding the energy transition results in a high expectation regarding its performance. Especially considering its ambition to become energy neutral by 2050 (Metropolitan Region Eindhoven, 2020). However, the overall low performance of the MRE-region indicates that the energy transition is still in an early state.
4.2.2 Economical capital
Knowledge capital
The sub-theme knowledge capital is about the knowledge that is available in a region. Uni- versities are considered to make knowledge available for people in the region. In addition, knowledge is created and made available in industries which relies on knowledge workers. In- dustry, education and highly educated people are used as indicators for the knowledge capital in a region.
The results regarding the sub-theme knowledge capital are presented in figure 4.2.2. The
38 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Later
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.2.1: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the theme energy sources for the MRE- region
figure shows that the MRE-region does not perform better than North-Brabant regarding the sub-theme knowledge capital. It does perform a bit better when compared to the Netherlands. Within the MRE-region there are a lot of differences. There are almost no municipalities that perform according to the average of the province or the country in which the municipalities are located. Best, Eindhoven and Son and Breugel perform significantly above average. All three of them are part of the urban area. In addition to these three municipalities, when compared to the Netherlands, most of the municipalities that have a positive performance also deviated significantly. Figure 4.2.2b shows that the urban area by far outperform the other sub-regions regarding knowledge capital. Moreover, it is the only sub-region that deviates significantly.
Knowledge capital is considered to be of importance in the MRE-region due to the medium and high tech industries and the large involvement of knowledge institutes (OECD, 2013). Eind- hoven places the most emphasis on knowledge capital in the region (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018). It focuses on knowledge worker, facilitating knowledge exchanges and co-financing. This focus might help explain the high performance of the municipality. On the other hand, Best performs well but has not an elaborate strategy regarding knowledge capital (Municipal- ity Best, 2018). Most municipalities, including Best, focus on education as a means to increase knowledge capital in the region. The exceptions are Helmond, Gemert-Bakel, Geldrop Mierlo and Someren (Municipality Gemert-Bakel, 2018; Municipality Geldrop-Mierlo, 2017; Municip- ality Someren, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018). They all consider stimulating knowledge exchange to be of importance as well. Furthermore, Helmond also acknowledges the import- ance of knowledge workers for developing knowledge capital (Municipality Helmond, 2018).
Financial capital
The sub-theme financial capital represents the median wealth of households. This is an indication of the capital which is available in the region. This theme does not include business
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 39 Later
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.2.2: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme knowledge capital for the MRE-region
capital.
The resulting z-values regarding the sub-theme financial capital are presented in figure 4.2.3. It shows that the MRE-region forms better compared to North-Brabant and significantly better compared to the Netherlands. There are large differences between the municipalit- ies. Only two municipalities underperformed, but not significantly. These municipalities are Eindhoven en Helmond. Compared to the Netherlands they have an average score, but they slightly underperform when compared to North-Brabant. Figure 4.2.3b shows that sub-region the Kempen performs best of the MRE-region regarding financial capital. It deviates signific- antly compared to North-Brabant and the Netherlands. In addition, the A2 region performs significantly better when compared to the Netherlands.
There is no clear connection between the sub-theme financial capital and the political discourse within the MRE-region. Within the discourse related topics are mentioned but often not in relation to quality of life. For instance, all municipalities consider their financial means to be of importance. These financial means influence the ability of the municipalities to stimulate quality of life. However, the municipalities do not mention this relation specifically in the agendas. The exceptions are Eindhoven and Helmond with the focus on poverty. This has a direct effect on the financial capital in the region. However, these two municipalities are the only ones in the region performing below average. This might explain why these two municipalities have a clear connection the the sub-theme financial capital and the others do not.
40 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Elsewhere
(a) The z-value for each municipality (b) The z-value for each sub-region
Figure 4.2.3: Bar chart presenting the z-values regarding the sub-theme financial capital for the MRE-region
4.3 Elsewhere
This section presents and discusses the outcomes of the internal comparison between the urban and rural area of the MRE-region. The classification of the urban and rural area from the MRE-cooperation is used for this analysis. The results are presented in table 4.3.1. The z-value indicates if one of the two regions performs better of worse compared to the average of the MRE-region. The data shows that there are no larger differences between the urban and the rural area. Regarding the (sub-)themes nutrition, health, labor, education, physical safety, nature and landscape, water quality and institutions there is no difference in performance at all. However, when looking at a sub-region level, there are differences between the performance of some of the sub-regions regarding the themes: health, labor, housing and nature and landscape. Table 4.3.2 shows the z-values of the sub-regions regarding these themes. Even though none of the deviations from the average of the MRE-region is significant, there are significant deviations between the sub-regions. Noticeably, the difference regarding the theme health is not considered to be significant, but it is still a large difference which otherwise would be overlooked. Only when averaging the sub-regions that are part of the rural area, there appears to be no difference between the rural and the urban area regarding these themes.
Differences do not only hide within the averages of the urban and rural areas. On average there appears to be no difference between the rural area and the urban area regarding the themes consumption and income and land and ecosystems. However, there are differences in performance regarding the sub-themes. Regarding the theme consumption and income, the urban area is the only area that deviates from the average of the MRE either in a positive or a negative way. Noticeably, economical participation appears to be better in the rural area, but income scores higher in the urban area. Especially when considering the low score regarding the sub-theme income for the two largest cities of the urban area. In addition, the
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 41 Elsewhere
Table 4.3.1: Performance of the rural area and the urban area as defined by the MRE-cooperation, compared to the average of the MRE-region
z-value [−] Theme Sub-theme Urban area Rural area Subjective well-being-- Consumption & income Average -0.3 0.1 Economic participation -0.8 0.5 Waste & resources -0.7 0.4 Income 0.7 -0.5 Nutrition 0.0 0.0 Health 0.0 0.0 Labor 0.2 -0.1 Education -0.1 0.1 Housing 0.6 -0.3 Leisure-- Physical safety -0.4 0.3 Land & ecosystems Average -0.3 0.15 Soil -0.9 0.5 Nature & landscape 0.3 -0.2 Water quality 0.0 0.0 Air quality 0.9 -0.6 Trust -0.6 0.4 Institutions -0.4 0.3
urban area underperforms regarding the sub-theme soil. This was expected based on figure 4.1.10.
The only themes with z-values that indicate a difference in performance are air quality and trust. The urban area scoring better on air quality was expected based on figure 4.1.13b. The low performance regarding the theme trust was expected as well based on figure 4.1.14b. However, the difference is not significantly. There is only a minor difference between the urban and the rural area. Nota bene, both areas do not deviate significantly from the average of the MRE-region. When looking at the difference between the urban and the rural area, there is one theme with a significant difference between the urban and the rural area: air quality.
Given the different role for the urban and the rural area assigned by the MRE-cooperation, differences in performance was expected. The classification of the MRE-cooperation regarding the urban and rural areas within the MRE-region includes other municipalities in addition to the urban centres of the region (Eindhoven and Helmond). These municipalities have aspects which allows them to be classified as a rural area as well. Including these municipalities influences the differences between the urban and rural area. This could lead to a moderation of the differences. Therefore, this study also analyses the differences in performance between the urban centres and the rural area (all other municipalities). The results of this analysis are presented in table 4.3.3.
42 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Elsewhere
Table 4.3.2: Presenting the performance of the four sub-regions regarding the themes health, labor, housing and nature and landscape compared to the average of the MRE-region
z-value [−] Theme Kempen Peel A2 Urban area Health -0.2 0.7 -0.7 0.0 Labor 0.6 -0.2 -1.1 0.2 Housing -1.2 0.6 -0.5 0.6 Nature & landscape -0.4 -0.8 1.3 0.3
The results showed significant differences between the performance of the urban centres and the rural area. Similar to first analysis, the rural area does not deviate significantly from the average of the MRE-region. More over, the rural area does not deviate at all. This was expected due to the large number of municipalities that are part of the rural area. All municipalities except Eindhoven and Helmond were classified as rural. Hence, it is not surprising that the performance is very close to the average of the whole region.
Looking at the urban centres as the urban area of the region results in a different outcome. There are six (sub-)themes that classify as a significant deviation: consumption and income, economic participation, waste and resources, physical safety, trust and institutions. Notice- ably, all of them are negative. However, there are two themes, nutrition and air quality, that received a z-value of 1.4. Officially they are not considered to be of significance but it does represent a large positive deviation.
Using another classification of the urban and rural area has a large impact on the results. Noticeably, the different roles for both areas did implicate the importance of the urban area. The other municipalities had a more supporting tole. However, this is not reflected in both analyses. More over, the urban area mostly underperform. In addition, being an urban centre does not necessarily mean a low performance regarding (sub-)themes with a connection to nature and the environment.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 43 Trend analysis
Table 4.3.3: Performance of the urban centres Eindhoven and Helmond and the rural area compared to the average of the MRE-region
z-value [−] Theme Sub-theme Urban centres Rural area Subjective well-being - - Consumption & income Average -1.6 0.2 Economic participation -2.3 0.2 Waste & resources -2.0 0.2 Income -0.6 0.1 Nutrition 1.4 -0.1 Health -1.1 0.1 Labor 0.8 -0.1 Education -0.5 0.0 Housing 0.8 -0.1 Leisure - - Physical safety -2.6 0.3 Land & ecosystems Average -0.4 0.0 Soil -0.9 0.1 Nature & landscape 0.1 0.0 Water resources 0.0 0.0 Air quality 1.4 -0.1 Trust -2.8 0.3 Institutions -2.3 0.2
4.4 Trend analysis
This section presents the results from analysing the development of the themes from the regional framework over the time period 2014-2019. The (sub-)themes nature and landscape and nutrition are left out due to lack of data points. The development is shown as the average yearly growth, expressed in percentages.
4.4.1 Here and now The average yearly growth regarding the themes of the dimension ‘here and now’ are presented in table 4.4.2 and table 4.4.1. On average, all of the themes are experiencing positive yearly growth in the MRE-region, with the exception of economic participation. The urban area is the only sub-region that experiences positive growth. This is mostly due to the municipalities Eindhoven and Helmond. They are one of the few municipalities that experienced growth. This in spite of their low performance regarding this theme in 2019 as is presented in figure 4.1.1a. In approximately half of the themes, some municipalities experience on average a negative yearly growth. However, most municipalities experience a positive yearly growth regarding all themes, with the exception of the sub-theme economic participation. Geldrop- Mierlo, Helmond, Nuenen, Reusel de Mierden and Veldhoven are the only municipalities that experienced positive yearly growth regarding all themes and sub-themes. With the exception of Reusel de Mierden, all of these municipalities are part of the urban area.
44 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Trend analysis
The largest yearly growth occurred regarding the theme housing. This growth is largest in the Kempen even though this region underperformed compared to the MRE-region, North- Brabant and the Netherlands. This indicates that the municipality has indeed recognised the low performance and are addressing it adequately. The Peel region also stands out regarding this theme. However, they were already performing significantly above average. In addition, Eindhoven and Helmond by far underperformed regarding the theme physical safety. However, both of them are experiencing a yearly growth. The urban area was the only sub-region that did not under-perform regarding the theme air quality. All of the sub-regions are experiencing a positive growth regarding this theme but the urban area experiences the largest growth. It appears that despite the already good performance, the urban area considers air quality to be of high importance. Regarding the theme water quality, the Peel was the only sub- region that underperforms. Furthermore, the Peel region experienced as only sub-region no growth over the selected time period. Finally, Eindhoven and Helmond experienced the lowest performance regarding the theme trust. However, they have experienced one of the largest growths in the region. Moreover, Helmond has the largest growth.
Table 4.4.1: The average yearly growth for each sub-region regarding the themes and sub-themes of the dimension ‘here and now’ expressed in percentages
Theme Sub-theme Yearly growth [%] Kempen Peel A2 Urban area Consumption & income Average 1.4 1.1 0.6 2.0 Economic participation -0.3 -0.4 -0.7 0.8 Waste & resources 1.9 1.3 0.7 3.4 Income 2.4 2.4 1.9 1.8 Health 3.0 2.1 1.6 2.1 Labor 1.3 1.7 2.6 2.8 Education 2.5 3.8 3.5 3.5 Housing 5.2 4.5 3.9 3.7 Physical safety 1.6 3.9 2.8 1.1 Land & ecosystems Soil 1.3 1.0 -0.1 5.1 Water quality 2.4 0.0 1.3 1.0 Air quality 3.0 2.1 1.9 4.1 Trust 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.7 Institutions 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 45 Trend analysis Trust Institutions Air quality Water quality Land & ecosystems Income Soil Waste & resources Economic participation Consumption & income Health Labor Education Housing Physical safety The average yearly growthpercentages for each municipality regarding the themes and sub-themes of the dimension ‘here and now’ expressed in Table 4.4.2: Municipalities Asten Average Bergeijk Best Bladel Cranendonck Deurne 0.4 0.8 Eersel 0.2 Eindhoven 1.4 Geldrop-Mierlo -1.0 1.3 -0.4 Gemert-Bakel -1.2 0.7 Heeze-Leende 1.1 -0.3 1.1 -0.6 Helmond 1.5 1.4 Laarbeek 0.0 0.3 -0.5 0.3 0.6 Nuenen 2.7 0.0 0.1 Oirschot -0.4 3.1 2.3 Reusel2.1 1.5 de-0.5 2.6 Mierden Someren 1.7 2.1 1.9 0.1 Son1.1 en Breugel 3.1 1.5 -1.5 4.1 1.3 2.1 Valkenswaard 2.0 2.2 1.7 1.2 -0.4 Veldhoven 1.6 0.0 -0.6 1.4 2.5 1.3 2.3 Waalre 2.3 1.6 3.7 1.4 0.8 1.4 2.0 MRE-region -0.5 1.9 2.3 2.5 4.6 5.8 2.0 1.9 1.0 0.8 -0.3 2.5 1.3 4.1 2.3 3.4 0.3 4.1 -0.3 3.4 2.3 2.6 1.3 4.3 1.8 2.0 1.3 3.0 1.5 3.9 3.5 4.4 1.9 5.6 1.6 0.8 1.4 0.9 2.2 2.3 2.7 2.8 3.5 2.8 2.6 -0.1 3.2 2.6 1.0 0.0 6.4 1.2 1.6 4.4 3.4 1.6 3.4 3.5 2.3 1.7 4.7 2.3 1.6 2.0 5.1 9.2 3.3 3.4 2.6 1.8 0.9 1.7 2.8 2.3 2.1 3.6 1.9 0.6 5.3 3.8 2.9 2.9 9.9 4.4 5.2 3.7 6.4 1.8 2.3 1.2 2.4 1.7 0.3 3.8 4.0 0.9 2.1 4.5 3.0 -1.3 -1.5 1.7 -0.7 2.5 3.3 2.0 1.8 1.1 1.2 1.9 0.0 6.9 4.5 2.2 7.8 -0.8 0.9 1.7 2.4 1.6 2.0 2.1 3.2 4.0 3.1 5.5 0.6 7.7 2.1 1.1 2.1 0.2 3.4 -0.2 1.1 1.5 2.2 4.4 3.5 3.0 -0.1 1.6 3.7 3.1 3.4 2.9 0.7 1.3 0.0 2.4 6.8 4.1 1.2 3.1 0.0 1.2 1.6 1.0 2.4 0.5 3.4 4.2 16.4 1.4 3.5 0.7 2.5 2.1 1.6 3.8 4.1 1.0 2.0 5.3 0.4 3.4 3.2 5.0 1.5 0.8 1.4 2.4 1.9 1.1 1.9 0.8 0.9 1.7 1.9 1.4 1.1 0.5 0.6 1.9 -1.4 1.8 0.9 0.3 1.3 1.2 2.1 2.9 1.4 0.8 0.9 4.7 0.0 2.2 3.4 7.7 2.9 3.4 4.3 1.8 1.9 0.0 -0.8 2.0 2.5 1.8 2.0 1.9 1.4 0.9 1.5 1.1 1.8 1.0 1.6 1.0 2.1 0.6 0.7 -0.1 0.7 2.6 3.4 0.4 3.1 1.3 1.7 4.4 1.6 1.5 1.0 1.7 1.2 0.5
46 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Trend analysis
4.4.2 Later For the dimension ‘later’ the average yearly growth is presented in figure 4.4.4 and table 4.4.3. On average, all of the capitals are increasing in the MRE-region. In addition, there are no large differences between the yearly increase of the capitals. However, there are some large differences between the different sub-themes, municipalities and sub-regions. The economic capital is experiencing the largest yearly growth, this is mostly due to the sub-theme financial capital. Within this sub-theme, the differences between municipalities are the largest. In general, this sub-theme is increasing the most of all other (sub-)themes. This especially applies to the urban area. The knowledge aspect of economic capital is not increasing that much. This is interesting due to the perceived importance of knowledge capital by Brainport. Furthermore, there are municipalities that experience a negative growth. In addition, the municipality Eindhoven is not growing at all. The entire urban area is barely increasing on a yearly basis. It has to be noted that the urban area does outperform the other sub-regions, North-Brabant and the Netherlands regarding the sub-theme knowledge. The social capital is experiencing the least growth within the MRE-region. There are no municipalities that have a negative yearly growth nor are there large difference between them. The same holds for the sub-regions. When comparing this to the results for the regional monitor, it indicates that the gab between the urban area (especially Helmond) and the other sub-regions will remain in the foreseeable future if nothing else changes. There are some large differences in yearly growth percentages regarding natural capital. The A2 region stands out regarding the sub-theme energy reserves. This is mostly due to the municipality Cranendonck. Overall, the urban area experienced the largest increase in natural capital. The development regarding human capital is distributed quite evenly between the municipalities and the sub-regions. In addition, none of them experienced a negative yearly growth between 2014 and 2019.
Table 4.4.3: The average yearly growth for each sub-region regarding the themes and sub-themes from the dimension ‘later’ expressed in percentages
Theme Sub-theme Yearly growth [%] Kempen Peel A2 Urban area Human capital Average 2.2 2.6 2.6 2.8 Health 3.0 2.1 1.6 2.1 Labor 1.3 1.7 2.6 2.8 Education 2.5 3.8 3.5 3.5 Natural capital Average 2.8 2.6 2.6 4.6 Soil 1.3 1.0 -0.1 5.1 Climate & air quality 3.0 2.1 1.9 4.1 Energy resources 4.0 4.5 6.1 4.7 Social capital Average 1.4 1.3 1.5 1.5 Trust 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.7 Institutions 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 Economic capital Average 2.8 3.0 5.3 8.2 Knowledge capital 1.8 2.1 3.7 0.4 Financial capital 3.8 3.9 6.9 15.9
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 47 Trend analysis Financial capital Knowledge capital Average Trust Institutions Average Energy resources Climate & air quality Human capital Natural capital Social capital Economic capital The average yearly growth for each municipality regarding the themes and sub-themes of the dimension ‘later’ expressed in percentages Municipalities Average Health Labor Education Average Soil Table 4.4.4: Asten Bergeijk Best Bladel Cranendonck Deurne 3.0 4.1 Eersel 2.5 Eindhoven 2.6 Geldrop-Mierlo 3.1 2.3 4.1 Gemert-Bakel 1.6 2.0 Heeze-Leende 2.8 1.3 2.3 2.3 3.0 3.7 Helmond 1.7 2.4 1.9 Laarbeek 4.6 5.8 2.0 2.9 1.0 2.5 Nuenen 1.3 2.3 4.1 2.6 Oirschot 2.3 4.3 1.8 3.0 Reusel2.0 2.5 de1.3 Mierden 3.5 1.6 3.7 Someren 0.9 3.5 1.4 2.2 2.3 2.8 Son4.1 en3.2 2.6 Breugel 2.7 1.2 Valkenswaard 1.6 3.6 0.3 3.4 0.9 2.2 4.0 1.7 Veldhoven 2.3 4.7 4.3 1.1 -1.5 3.4 Waalre 3.3 3.4 4.2 1.9 2.6 2.2 1.6 1.9 5.9 MRE-region 2.3 2.1 0.0 0.6 1.9 2.3 2.9 6.8 2.9 3.1 3.7 1.7 2.1 1.7 3.1 6.4 1.7 3.4 1.8 3.8 3.6 1.2 7.7 2.5 2.5 0.2 12.2 3.8 -0.2 3.0 1.7 2.9 5.3 -0.7 1.8 3.3 1.1 3.4 8.9 3.2 -0.1 2.2 3.6 0.9 1.9 6.9 2.8 2.4 3.5 2.2 1.8 2.4 1.7 1.6 2.0 5.5 5.8 2.8 16.4 2.6 4.6 1.4 1.3 2.1 1.4 3.8 2.4 2.2 2.9 1.6 0.4 2.2 1.6 3.0 2.6 2.9 2.2 0.5 3.4 2.7 1.5 1.4 2.1 1.4 1.3 3.1 1.9 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.0 4.1 4.3 1.4 0.9 1.9 0.5 7.4 6.0 0.8 0.5 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.9 0.8 1.9 4.6 1.7 6.7 3.0 -0.3 1.5 5.7 1.8 1.4 1.1 1.9 3.1 3.7 1.8 2.7 7.7 2.7 0.9 4.0 2.1 1.4 0.8 3.4 -3.7 1.7 5.2 1.8 1.7 3.6 7.0 5.4 0.0 2.5 2.2 5.5 3.0 3.1 3.4 0.7 0.9 3.2 4.4 8.3 2.0 0.8 15.5 1.8 2.7 2.0 3.1 5.9 1.2 6.8 4.2 4.4 1.0 0.9 2.2 1.4 5.2 1.1 5.3 1.6 1.4 4.2 0.8 0.0 2.4 0.6 6.0 2.1 4.8 9.7 0.7 1.7 4.4 0.7 2.6 15.1 4.8 0.4 1.4 3.4 4.9 -0.1 15.9 1.3 0.7 1.7 30.9 1.6 0.7 5.7 3.5 5.5 0.9 1.5 5.6 1.7 -3.5 3.0 1.0 5.4 1.2 2.8 4.1 7.0 29.4 -1.8 0.5 3.3 0.8 3.9 8.2 3.7 4.2 3.6 6.9 3.6 2.3 -0.2 10.0 1.9 1.3 9.9 -3.6 16.5 5.8 8.3
48 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Trend analysis
Conclusion
This chapter presented the quantitative outcomes that resulted from applying the CES- recommendations on the MRE-region. The results are presented for all three dimensions and the trend analysis. The results showed that the MRE-region as a whole did not have a significantly different performance compared to North-Brabant and the Netherlands. The exceptions are waste and resources (when compared to the Netherlands), soil and air quality. The deviation is only positive for waste and resources. The differences in performance became visible when analysing the sub-regions and the indi- vidual municipalities. Most significant differences occurred between the municipalities. These differences are both positive and negative. When comparing them to the political discourse, there is no indication that there is an overall focus on underperforming themes. The results from the dimension ‘elsewhere’ showed that there are barely any differences in performance between the urban and the rural area (as defined by the MRE-region). This was unexpected due to the different roles assigned to these two areas by the MRE-cooperation. However, considering Eindhoven and Helmond as the urban area, significant differences are present. Noticeably, these differences are for themes which are connected to natural capital. The trend analysis showed that overall the developments regarding quality of life are positive. The exception being economical participation. Noticeably, this is not the case for the urban area, especially Eindhoven and Helmond. This is interesting given their low performance regarding this sub-theme. The next chapter presents the results of the discourse analysis in more detail. After the focus points of the MRE-region are presented, the comparison with the CES-recommendations is made. This is followed by discussing the policy implications.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 49 Chapter 5
Comparing the MRE-region to the CES-recommendations
This chapter compares the agenda and focus points regarding quality of life of the MRE- region to the CES-recommendations. First, the results of the political discourse analysis are presented. The themes that received a prominent place on the political agenda of the MRE-region are discussed. This provides the answer to the sub-research question: What is the perspective regarding quality of life of the MRE-region? Second, the focus points of the MRE-region are compared to the CES-recommendations. Third, the dimension ‘elsewhere’ from the CES-recommendations is discussed in relation to focus points of the MRE-region. The second and third part of this chapter answer the sub-research question: What are the differences between the CES-recommendations for sustainable development and the perspective of the MRE-region? Finally, the implications for policy developments are discussed.
5.1 Policy regarding quality of life in the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
This section discusses the results of the political discourse analysis. It presents the perspective of the MRE-region in regards to quality of life. The results are divided into three subsections: Brainport, the MRE-cooperation and the municipalities. These subsection have been selected due to the large influence on the perspective regarding quality of life from Brainport and the MRE-cooperation. There is a clear difference between priorities which result from Brainport, the MRE-cooperation and which are initiatives from the municipalities themselves. Therefore, the results are divided in these three sections. The first subsection discusses the influence of the Brainport agenda on the municipal political agenda. The second subsection discusses the influence of the agenda from the MRE-cooperation on the municipal political agenda. The third subsection discusses focus points of quality of life put forward by the municipalities themselves.
5.1.1 Brainport The Brainport agenda is based on three pillars: a distinctive supply of facilities, keeping and attracting talent and developing innovations which have an impact on society. All three of
50 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Policy regarding quality of life in the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven these pillars are represented in local municipal policies, visions and strategies. The 21 municipalities indicate the importance of facilities which include cultural and recre- ational facilities. Within the region there is consensus that a wide variety of available facilities contribute to the quality of life of its inhabitants. In addition, they provide the opportunity to attract visitors from outside the MRE-region. This contributes to the tourism sector and the image of the region. The second pillar regarding talent in the region is focused on recruiting activities and the internationalisation of education. In municipal policy it is usually represented in terms of education. The focus is placed on the quality of the education programs and materials (this includes housing) and to prevent students from lagging behind. A large number of municip- alities only have primary education, sometimes also high-schools. The larger municipalities like Eindhoven and Helmond have a more detailed strategy and corresponding policies due to the presence of multiple high-schools and universities (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Mu- nicipality Helmond, 2018). They have a stronger focus on internationalising the education programs and connecting them with industry demand and requirements. In addition to edu- cation but not consistent with the MRE-strategy, most municipalities have policies in place to keep youth in the region after high-school. This is also a way to keep talent in the area. Developing innovations which help solve large societal problems is one of the cornerstones of Brainport (Rijksoverheid, 2017). The overarching topics are: a health society, the energy transition and sustainable mobility. Municipalities have incorporated this in their economic strategy and policy. These policies are based on the type of industries present in the muni- cipality and which of them contribute to the economical pillars of the municipality.
5.1.2 The MRE-cooperation The themes agreed on by the MRE-cooperation (economy, mobility, energy transition and transition rural areas) have resulted in policy development throughout the region. How these themes are present on the political agenda of the municipalities is discussed in this section. However, the theme economy will not be discussed. Namely, this theme is about creating a connection between local policies regarding the economy and the agenda of Brainport (Met- ropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). The resulting political focus has already been discussed in the previous section.
Mobility The theme mobility is mostly about the accessibility to and within the MRE-region (Metro- pool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). To achieve a high level of accessibility, the MRE-cooperation wants to target transportation modes that allow for safe and sustainable mobility. This is reflected in policies of the municipalities regarding mobility. All of the municipalities have included mobility as a priority in their coalition agreement. Only, there are differences in approach. Most of the municipalities include the bicycle, different types of public transport and car. There are municipalities that do not include all of them as a priority regarding mobility. The municipality Veldhoven gives priority to the transport mode car (Municipality Veld- hoven, 2018) and Someren does not include public transport as a high priority (Municipality Someren, 2018). In addition, municipality Nuenen c.a. states that the public transport con- nections are already excellent and are therefore no longer a priority for them (Municipality
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 51 Policy regarding quality of life in the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
Nuenen c.a., 2018). Policy relating to the car as a transportation mode is mostly about bot- tlenecks on highways and n-roads and the number of cars in the centres of cities, smaller towns and villages. Veldhoven and Nuenen c.a. also consider parking policy to be of importance (Municipality Veldhoven, 2018; Municipality Nuenen c.a., 2018). Another topic regarding mobility is electric cars. Approximately one fourth of the municipalities sees electric cars as a priority (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018; Municipality Son en Breugel, 2018; Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018; Municipality Geldrop-Mierlo, 2017). As a result, they try to implement the infrastructure needed to accommodate them. In addition to these three types of transportation, the MRE-region is also accessible by airplane. Municipalities Eindhoven, Best, Son and Breugel, Waalre and Veldhoven have incorporated Eindhoven Airport into their mobility agenda (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Best, 2018; Municipality Son en Breugel, 2018; Municipality Waalre, 2018; Mu- nicipality Veldhoven, 2018). The perception regarding the airport is based on the amount of nuisance the municipalities experience. Finally, all municipalities state that safety is always important. Only, the municipalities Eindhoven, Gemert-Bakel and Helmond have implemen- ted this specifically in their mobility agendas.
Energy transition The theme energy transition is not just based on an agreement within the MRE-region. As a result of the Paris Agreement, the entire government of the Netherlands has put the energy transition on the agenda. The MRE-cooperation has the ambition to be one of the front runners regarding this topic (Metropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). The end goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 49 percent by 2030 and to be climate neutral by 2050. To that end the region has formulated a Regional Energy Strategy (RES). The RES consists of two parts: the build environment and sustainable electricity. This strategy is in line with the agreements made in the Climate Agreement. The municipalities have incorporated the RES into local policies and programs under the name sustainability. It is visible in subsidies and new regulations regarding houses. For example, projects to imple- ment solar panels on roofs are supported by the municipalities. Solar panels are mentioned most frequently by the municipalities in regards to energy transition. In addition, a large part of the energy transition consists of disconnecting houses from the gas network and implement other forms of heating and cooking. All municipalities have placed emphasis on the energy transition in their coalition agree- ments. In the coalition agreements from Nuenen c.a., Son en Breugel and Geldrop-Mierlo, the energy transition is only mentioned in regards to housing (Municipality Son en Breugel, 2018; Municipality Geldrop-Mierlo, 2017). This indicates that their focus is placed on the build environment aspects of the RES. Veldhoven does not go into detail regarding the energy transition but only mentions that the municipality will pay more attention to it (Municipality Veldhoven, 2018). Furthermore, Cranendonck states that their strategy developed in 2015 is not accurate anymore and is developing a new one. The energy transition does not appear to be a very high priority for the municipality. In addition to activities that stimulate the energy transition, some municipalities advocate for energy saving (Municipality Nuenen c.a., 2018; Municipality Deurne, 2018; Municipal- ity Waalre, 2018). They consider this to be an important aspect of making the transition possible. Noticeably, strategies, visions and policies regarding the energy transition are of- ten considered to be the sustainable vision of the municipality. Due to the contribution to
52 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Policy regarding quality of life in the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven sustainability, it also applies to developments that address larger societal issues.
Transition of rural areas
The theme transition of rural areas represents the agenda to achieve the desired state of the rural areas in the MRE-region (Metropool Region Eindhoven, 2020). Based on agreements between different governance bodies1 the transition focuses on food production, climate, wa- ter safety, circular economy, biodiversity and energy. These topics are connected and need to be addressed coherently. The end goal is to achieve an economically viable, liveable and ecological sustainable countryside. The transition of rural areas is a theme with a specific connection to the different roles of the municipalities as presented earlier in chapter The Metropolitan Region Eindhoven. This is represented in the strategies and policies of the municipalities. Eindhoven and Helmond place no priority on this transition (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018). This makes sense when considering the lack of rural areas in these municipalities. In addition, the municipalities Cranendonck, Veldhoven and Nuenen c.a. do not include the transition in the coalition agreements as well (Municipality Cranendonck, 2018; Municipality Veldhoven, 2018; Municipality Nuenen c.a., 2018). The lack of inclusion indicates a low prior- ity. Someren does mention the transition of the rural area but they do not specify their view on it (Municipality Someren, 2018). Noticeably, municipalities that are part of the urban area are considering the transition as a priority even though this does not match with their role. The transition is focused on creating an economical sustainable, attractive region that has a high ecological quality and contributes to climate adaptation (Metropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). Municipalities that have a large agricultural sector focus mostly on making the sector more sustainable (Municipality Best, 2018; Municipality Reusel-De Mierden, 2018; Municipal- ity Gemert-Bakel, 2018; Municipality Laarbeek, 2018; Municipality Asten, 2018; Municpality Heeze-Leende, 2018; Municipality Son en Breugel, 2018). This has a connection to the energy transition as well. Also, policies have been put into place to encourage the sector to engage in side activities. These side activities are usually based in the recreational and tourism sector. Also, some municipalities place a high priority on the agricultural sector regarding sustainable energy generations. This idea is widely accepted within the MRE-region (Metropool Regio Eindhoven, 2019). Most municipalities want to create an economical sustainable area via tourism and recreation by prioritising walking and biking tracks (Municipality Reusel-De Mierden, 2018; Municip- ality Gemert-Bakel, 2018; Municipality Geldrop-Mierlo, 2017; Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018; Municipality Waalre, 2018). Valkenswaard has placed its priority on a horse boulevard (Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018). The municipality Son en Breugel is the only one that places priority on the ecological value of the rural areas (Municipality Son en Breugel, 2018). Laarbeek has a unique priority as well. The municipality is experiencing drug related crimin- ality due to empty agricultural lands. The municipality want to address this in the trans- formation of the rural area. Noticeably, the agreements regarding the transition of the rural areas are only recently made. Therefore, policies and agendas from the municipalities might lag behind and are not fully incorporating this new approach yet.
1The ministry of agriculture (LNV), Inter-provincial deliberation (IPO) and the Union of the Dutch Muni- cipalities (VNG).
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 53 Policy regarding quality of life in the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven
5.1.3 The municipalities Next to policies that are developed due to the agenda of the MRE-cooperation or Brainport, there are also some topics that are prioritised by the municipalities due to local issues. The themes housing, safety and healthcare are important for all 21 municipalities. They are considered to be basic necessities for a decent quality of life. Within the theme healthcare, more emphasis is placed on care aspect. Topics like loneliness and elderly care receive a higher priority compared to hospitals and pharmacies.
Sustainability The discourse analysis showed that sustainability is part of the priorities of the local govern- ments in the MRE-region. The themes energy transition and transition of rural areas from the agenda of the MRE-cooperation are part of the sustainability agenda’s of the municipal- ities. For most of the municipalities these themes are the focus points in the sustainability efforts. However, some municipalities expand these focus points with additional priorities of their own. One of these priorities is waste management (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Someren, 2018; Municipality Gemert-Bakel, 2018; Municpality Heeze-Leende, 2018; Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018; Municipality Reusel-De Mierden, 2018; Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018). Waste management has a connection with circular economy which is part of the transition of rural areas. However, these municipalities do not focus specifically on recycling. They emphasis the importance of waste reduction, sorting and transporting. The municipality Best did not include other sustainability topics, but it included the effects on future generations as a focus point (Municipality Best, 2018). Its sustainability policies are developed with a longer time span in mind.
Participation Within the MRE-region, the municipalities are focusing on different types of participation; economical participation, citizen participation and social participation. There appears to be no connection between the agendas from Brainport and the MRE-cooperation and the em- phasis placed on participation in the MRE-region. Economical participation is about the ability of people to participate in the local economy. The results of the discourse analysis show that economic participation is an important theme in the MRE-region. With the exception of Geldrop-Mierlo, all municipalities have included economical participation in their coalition agreements. Noticeably, the quantitative ana- lyses showed that Geldrop-Mierlo underperformed significantly regarding this theme. Most municipalities mention the participation law (Municipality Gemert-Bakel, 2018; Municip- ality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018; Municipality Best, 2018; Municipality Waalre, 2018; Municipality Laarbeek, 2018; Municipality Someren, 2018; Municipality Reusel- De Mierden, 2018). This law makes municipalities responsible to stimulate peoples ability to join the job market. Therefore, it is no surprise that economic participation is considered to be of importance. However, in addition to the participation law, municipalities are try- ing to decrease poverty as well (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018; Municipality Gemert-Bakel, 2018; Municipality Laarbeek, 2018; Municipality Deurne, 2018; Municipality Veldhoven, 2018; Municipality Valkenswaard, 2018; Municipality Son en Breu-
54 Measuring quality of life on a regional level The comparison gel, 2018; Municipality Deurne, 2018; Municipality Someren, 2018; Municipality Reusel-De Mierden, 2018). These efforts connect to economical participation. Furthermore, they are not only about job opportunities but include depths and poverty schemes. The municipality of Helmond places a large focus on children in relation to poverty (Municipality Helmond, 2018). The participation of citizens is considered to be of importance in addition to economic par- ticipation. Most municipalities have made the inclusion of citizens in the decision making process and projects a priority. Furthermore, Veldhoven has specified youth participation to be an important part of citizen participation (Municipality Veldhoven, 2018). The municipalities Eindhoven and Helmond have the most extensive policies regarding inclus- iveness, poverty and social cohesion (Municipality Eindhoven, 2018; Municipality Helmond, 2018). Both place a high priority on a social inclusive society. They consider job opportunities for all to be the best way for people to participate in society. Social participation, including citizen participation has a strong connection to economical participation within the political debate of the urban centres of the region.
5.2 The comparison
The framework presented by the CES-recommendations is suppose to represent all relevant aspects of quality of life on a national level. It stands to reason that the themes of quality of life on a national level would apply on a region level as well. Only, due to the different scale, some adjustments have to be made regarding the difference in interpretation of these themes on a regional level. Also, due to the local characteristics of a region, there might be additional themes that are important specifically on a regional level. Noticeably, the themes developed by the UN in the CES-recommendations are divided into different dimensions to capture the essence of sustainability. This is not the case for the MRE-region. The priorities and ideas regarding quality of life of the MRE-region are not as clearly based on the definition of sustainability.
This section discusses the results of the comparison between the political discourse analysis and the CES-recommendations. There are three types of possible results: 1. There is a match between the (sub-)theme from the CES-recommendation and the political discourse in the MRE-region. 2. The (sub-)theme is present in the political discourse but the interpretation is different. 3. The (sub-)theme is not present in the political discourse and vice versa. Table 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 present the (sub-)themes from the CES-recommendations and if they are present in the political discourse of the MRE-region. (sub-)themes which are present in the political discourse but not interpreted in the same manner are labelled with an asterisk. The dimension ‘elsewhere’ is not included in the comparison, but is discussed in a separate section.
5.2.1 Matches There are clear matches between the priorities of the MRE-region regarding quality of life and the themes put forward by the CES-recommendations. They are presented in table 5.2.1 and 5.2.2. The theme subjective well-being is about how people within the MRE-region experience their own well-being. The perception of well-being of the citizens of the municipalities is considered
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 55 The comparison
Table 5.2.1: Presenting the (sub-)themes from the CES-recommendations regarding the dimension ‘here and now’ in connection to the priorities expressed in political discourse
Theme Sub-theme Prioritised in political discourse Subjective well-being Yes Consumption & income Economic participation Yes Waste & resources Yes Income No Nutrition No Health Yes* Labor Yes Education Yes* Housing Yes Leisure No Physical safety Yes Land & ecosystems Soil Yes Nature & landscape Yes Water quality Yes Air quality Yes Trust Yes* Institutions Yes*
to be of importance. The municipal agency of health assess the perceived well-being in the MRE-region which is used by the municipalities for policy developments. The sub-themes land and ecosystems, soil, water quality, climate and mineral resources are all part of the political discourse due to the transition of the rural area. Air quality is also related to this topic due to the relation to emissions from agriculture but it is also a priority in the urban areas which have lots of traffic. Knowledge capital and labor are considered to be one of the core assets of the region. This is mostly due to the connection with Brainport. The themes housing and physical safety are considered to be basic living requirements. The interpretation of these themes match with the perception of the CES-recommendations.
5.2.2 Interfaces There are also themes that are interpreted a bit different by the municipalities of the MRE- region. These themes are: education, health, mineral resources, energy resources, trust and institutions. The theme education is present in the CES-recommendations. It focuses on the number of years people attend school and how much money is invested. In addition to these types of indicators, the MRE-region is focusing mostly on the quality of the educa- tion programs, the internationalisation of them and how they can be in line with industry requirements of the region. These topics are not part of the indicators used by the CES- recommendations to analyse the theme education. The same applies to the theme health. In addition to indicators regarding healthcare, the MRE-region places a large focuses on topics like loneliness, elder care, prevention and volunteers. It appears to be more about caring and developing a caring community, especially in the smaller towns and villages. This might
56 Measuring quality of life on a regional level The comparison
Table 5.2.2: Presenting the (sub-)themes from the CES-recommendations regarding the dimension ‘later’ in connection to the priorities expressed in political discourse
Theme Sub-theme Prioritised in political discourse Human capital Health Yes* Labor Yes Education Yes*
Natural capital Land & ecosystems Yes Water resources No Air quality Yes Climate Yes Energy resources Yes* Mineral resources Yes*
Social capital Trust Yes* Institutions Yes*
Economic capital Physical capital No Knowledge capital Yes Financial capital No be because the region already scores well regarding the indicators that fit with the CES- recommendations. The theme mineral resources is about its availability in the future. This matches with the focus on circular economy, recycling and waste processing. Only, the focus of the region is not limited to mineral resources. A theme with indicators that assess aspects of the circular economy would be better suited for the region. The theme energy resources matches with the priorities of the MRE-region, but it can be elaborated. In addition to energy consumption, resources and intensity, the CES-recommendations have included renewable energy. Given the ambition to become energy neutral by 2050, the indicators used could be more specific and include different types of technologies and investments made in renewable energy. The theme trust is about trust in society and includes indicators regarding volunteering work and social contacts. This has a connection with societal participation and cohesion. These are topics that are becoming increasingly important in the region, especially in the urban capitals Eindhoven and Helmond. The theme trust is in line with the priorities of the region but can be developed further to capture societal participation and cohesion better. The theme institutions is also present in the political discourse. This theme is about the trust people have in the political system. The municipalities actively try to include citizens in the political debates and governmental projects. This creates trust in the local political system and its decision making and policy developments. Hence, the objective is similar. However, the CES-recommendations measures the performance of the theme institutions based on the number of votes during national and regional elections. This indicator does not fully match with the approach of the MRE-region. To incorporate the regional approach of the MRE- region regarding this theme, an indicator that assesses citizen participation in decision making and governmental projects needs to be included. This would capture the regional approach
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 57 The comparison
better when only analysing the turnout of voters.
5.2.3 Not a match
There are themes presented by the CES-recommendations which are not placed high on the agenda of the municipalities of the MRE-region. These themes are: leisure, nutrition, water resources, financial capital, income and physical capital. The results of the discourse analysis did not show any presence of the themes leisure and nutrition in the political discourse. The theme water resources is not about water quality (which is present in the political dis- course) but about the available resources for the future. This aspect of water is not present in the political discourse. The focus is placed on water quality and management in terms of climate adaptation. The themes financial capital and income have a connection with economical participation (which is prioritised in the region). However, within the MRE-region the focus is placed on access to the job market, not on the amount of income or the accumulation of financial capital. There is no specific focus on these two themes.
There are also themes put forward by the MRE-region that are not part of the framework from the CES. These themes are: facilities, youth and mobility. Within the MRE-region facilities are considered to be instrumental for a good quality of life. This does not only include the necessarily facilities like a supermarket but also cultural and sport facilities. This topic is not directly present in the CES-recommendations. Cultural and sport facilities could be part of the theme leisure. However, the recommendations only consider leisure time. The monitor of well-being from the CBS has expanded to theme leisure and included an indicator regarding the satisfaction. This could have an indirect connection to the available facilities and influence the score regarding this indicator. Given the importance of facilities in the MRE-region by all the corresponding municipalities and the overarching cooperation’s, a monitor would not accurately represent the MRE-region if it does not include an indicator that directly targeted facilities, especially cultural and sport facilities. The municipalities are focusing specifically on youth to keep them in the region. They are considered an asset which should be encouraged to stay in the region after they finish high school. The CES-recommendations make no distinction between different age groups and have no themes or indicators that target youth. In addition to youth, the region wants to attract talent. Noticeably, the CES-recommendations have included migration of human capital as an indicator regarding the theme labor for the dimension ‘elsewhere’. However, this indicator is about the effects on other regions, not on the effects for the receiving region. By adding a migration theme to the dimension ‘here and now’, the effects of policy designed to keep youth in the region and attract outside talent can be analysed. The MRE-region in its totality, but also the individual municipalities consider mobility to be important in regards to quality of life. This is due to the importance of accessibility to and within the region and the focus on the development of sustainable mobility practices. This is connected to the energy transition and air quality themes mentioned earlier. Furthermore, when the CBS applied the CES-recommendations they added a mobility theme (CBS, 2019). This indicates the importance of mobility to quality of life on a national level. Given the priority placed on mobility by the MRE-region, it also applies to the regional level.
58 Measuring quality of life on a regional level The dimension ‘elsewhere’
5.3 The dimension ‘elsewhere’
So far the themes mentioned in this chapter are all part of the dimension ‘here and now’ and the dimension ‘later’. There is a clear connection between these themes and the priorities of the MRE-region even though the region does not use these classifications. The themes regarding the dimension ‘elsewhere’ are developed to assess the impact from one region on another region. Even though the themes and corresponding indicators could not be quantified to the MRE-region due to lack of data, they can be analysed in a qualitative manner. The themes, sub-themes and the interpretation of them are presented in table 5.3.1.
Table 5.3.1: Presenting the themes, sub-themes and interpretation of the dimension ‘elsewhere’ from the CES-recommendations for sustainable development
Themes Sub-themes Interpretation Consumption & income Official development assistance Imports from developing countries Human capital Labor Migration of human capital Natural capital Land & ecosystems Land footprint foreign part Water Water footprint foreign part Climate Carbon footprint foreign part Mineral resources Import of mineral resources Social capital Institutions Contribution to international institutions Economic capital Physical capital Exports of physical capital Knowledge capital Exports of knowledge capital Financial capital Foreign direct investment
The region does not mention the dimension ‘elsewhere’ specifically when referring to quality of life or sustainability. Only, the priorities of the region to increase the local quality of life do have an effect on other parts of the world. Some of these effects are acknowledged by the region or are even intentional, but others are not mentioned in the political discourse. First, the economical developments of Brainport are aiming at innovation that can contribute to large societal issues that are transboundary. By investing in these kind of technologies, the region can contribute to solutions in other regions. This can be in other parts of North- Brabant or the Netherlands but also abroad. Noticeably, it is the intention of the MRE-region to have a transboundary effect with these innovations. However, there is no clear connection to the themes of the dimension ‘elsewhere’. Second, the industry of the MRE-region consists for a large part of manufacturing industry. This type of industry imports materials from other regions. In doing so the region has an effect on the extraction regions. This effect is not present in the political discourse in connection with quality of life. This activity matches with the sub-theme mineral resources. Third, one of the objective of the MRE-agenda is to attract talent from other regions. This can either be from other regions in the Netherlands, but also abroad. In doing so, the migrated people bring knowledge with them and they are no longer able to contribute to the society and economy of their previous location. This effect is not present in the political discourse regarding quality of life. However, there is a connection between this objective of the MRE- cooperation and the sub-theme labor.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 59 Policy implications
Finally, it could be argued that the energy transition of the region fits with the essence the ‘elsewhere’ dimension. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions and becoming climate neutral, the contribution to global warming and climate change of the region decreases. Due to the transboundary nature of these effects, the MRE-region has an effect on the entire planet when its emissions decrease. Within the CES-recommendations, only foreign greenhouse gas emissions are part of the dimension ‘elsewhere’. Furthermore, there is a stronger connection with the dimension ‘later’. However, greenhouse gas emissions have transboundary effects. This is acknowledged by the MRE-region and present in the political discourse regarding quality of life. To conclude, the results indicate importance regarding the import and export of materials, labor, climate and energy. Even though, these themes are not interpreted in exactly the same way as the CES-recommendations.
5.4 Policy implications
The idea behind a regional monitoring tool to analyse quality of life is the contribution to informed decision making for regional policy development. Hence, such a monitoring tool should have implications for regional policy development. This section discusses the policy implications resulting from a regional framework which is based on the CES-recommendations
First, using a regional monitoring tool contributes to an inclusive perspective regarding quality of life on a regional level. By using a monitoring tool, themes can be identified which are important for quality of life, but are not present on the political agenda. It is possible that the region does not focus on these themes because they already perform well regarding these themes. On the other hand, the region does focus on aspects regarding quality of life in which they already perform well. This makes it unlikely that these themes are not considered to be of importance due to a good performance. It seems plausible that these themes have been overlooked. By using a monitoring tool which includes all aspects regarding quality of life, themes that were overlooked can be included in future policy making. Hence, it can ensure an inclusive perspective regarding quality of life for regional policy development.
Second, a monitoring tool enables the analysis of the performance regarding quality of life for different municipalities within the region. The results of the analysis identify strengths and weaknesses. Based on these results, policy makers can make informed decisions regarding the need for policies regarding specific themes. For example, the focus can shift from a themes which is performing well to a theme which is not performing as well as expected. Hence, it allows for informed decision making in regional policy developments. The results do not only provide information to base municipal policies on. It also shows which municipalities (or sub-regions even) within the region perform well or poorly regarding specific themes. When municipalities experience the same low performance, they might benefit from working together. Or when one municipality excels at a certain theme, others might benefit from its experience. Hence, an performance analysis can help form beneficial partnerships. Furthermore, already existing partnerships (such as the MRE-cooperation) could include different focus points based on the performance analysis.
Third, when a monitoring tool is used for several years it allows for trend analyses which can
60 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Policy implications help determine the effectiveness of policies. The performance of a region regarding a certain theme can be analysed over a time period. The results can bring perspective into the devel- opments regarding quality of life. This was the aim for the trend analysis performed in this study. However, it could be taken a step further. In addition to analysing the developments, a comparison could be made with new policy developments. By analysing the developments after a new policy is introduced, it effectiveness can be analysed. This contributes to more informed decision making as well. Nota bene, other factors in addition to new policies can have an effect on the developments as well. Developments that can effect quality of life in addition to policies need to be taken into account as well. A trend analysis is not only beneficial for the corresponding region (sub-region or muni- cipality). Similar to the previous paragraph, it can be the foundation for a partnership. Municipalities which are experiencing a strong development over the years can help other municipalities to achieve the same development.
Conclusion
This chapter presented the results from the discourse analysis. The results showed that all items on the agenda from the MRE-cooperation and Brainport are present on the agendas of the municipalities. There are only a few items that are given priority by the municipalities themselves. The comparison between the CES-recommendations and the political discourse showed a lot of overlap between the two. There are some (sub-)themes for which both have different focus points. The focus points of the MRE-region appear to be very specific. Sometimes this is due to a underlying economical agenda. This is the case for the theme education. There are also a few (sub-)themes for which the CES-recommendations and the MRE-region have no similarities. Either the region has placed no priority on these themes, or they are not present in the CES-recommendations. The CES-recommendations are considered to be the foundation for a regional monitoring tool. Hence, themes which are not present in the MRE-region are not of less importance. This research argues that the region is overlooking these aspects of quality of life. Themes which are present in the MRE-region but not in the CES-recommendations provide an opportunity for expansion. The dimension ‘elsewhere’ is important to consider when analysing quality of life. However, there is no specific mention of it in the political discourse. Noticeably, it is connected to some of the focus point of the MRE-region. The results of this study show that the dimension ‘elsewhere’ is mostly overlooked by the MRE-region. This chapter ends by presenting the policy implications of a regional framework which is based on the CES-recommendations. These implications for policy show that the CES- recommendations can be used to develop a monitor that analyses quality of life on a regional level to support informed decision making regarding regional policy development. This chapter is the final chapter that presents results. The next chapter is the conclusion.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 61 Chapter 6
Conclusion
The aim of this research was to account for the direct living environment when analysing quality of life to support informed decision making on a regional level by using the research question:
How can the CES-recommendations for sustainable development be used to develop a monitor, that analyses quality of life on a regional level to allow for informed decision making regarding regional policy development?
To answer the research question, the MRE-region was used as a case study. The first step was to re-frame the indicators used by the CES-recommendations to make them applicable on a regional level. During this process, it became clear that some of the themes from the CES- recommendations could not be quantified on a regional level due to insufficient data. This especially applied to the dimension ‘elsewhere’. All other themes are used to analyse quality of life in the MRE-region. Furthermore, the dimension ‘elsewhere’ has been reinterpreted to analyse differences between the urban and the rural area. This is especially relevant due to the presence of urban and periphery roles assigned by the MRE-cooperation.
The second step of this research was to analyse the meaning of quality of life from the regional perspective of the MRE-region. This includes an overview of the region and an analysis of the political discourse. The MRE-region consists of a lot of different collaborations. These collaborations have a large impact on the perception of quality of life. The agenda of the MRE-cooperation focusing on the themes economy, mobility, energy transition and transition of rural areas is reflected in the agenda of all 21 municipalities. All municipalities acknowledge these themes to be important for quality of life in the region. The theme economy is given substance by Brainport. Therefore, the three pillars that Brainport put forward are present on the municipal agendas as well. As a result, emphasis is placed on developing cultural and sports facilities and keeping and attracting talent. Furthermore, policy regarding industrial areas and stimulation of industry is partly based on its ability to develop innovations that help solve large societal problems. There are topics placed on the agenda which have no clear connection to the cooperation’s in the region. These are topics such as health, housing, economical participation and safety. Also the urban centres Eindhoven and Helmond are focusing increasingly on social issues such as inclusiveness, poverty and cohesion. Some of these topics are placed on the agenda because the municipalities consider them to be underdeveloped. This is the case with Eindhoven and Helmond regarding the social cohesion
62 Measuring quality of life on a regional level CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION and participation. The other topics are selected because the municipalities consider them to be key for a good quality of life.
After the qualitative analysis of the region, the regionalized CES-recommendations were ap- plied. The results showed the performance of the MRE-region, the sub-regions and the individual municipalities regarding all themes and sub-themes of the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. The analysis showed that the performance of the MRE-region is close to the Dutch average. The (sub-)themes waste and resources, soil, and water quality are the only exceptions when compared to the Netherlands. There are no significant deviations when compared to North-Brabant. Of the three (sub-)themes that presented a significant devi- ation, waste and resources is the only positive one. Overall, the MRE-region appears to be a representative for the Dutch average. However, the difference occur on the sub-regional and municipal level instead of on the regional level. Similar to the national level, differences are hiding in the regional level as well. The results from the dimension ‘elsewhere’ showed less differences compared to the differ- ences between the four sub-regions. Both the urban and the rural area, as defined by the MRE-cooperation, did not perform significantly different from the average of the MRE-region. These results can be found in table 4.3.1. However, when the urban centres (Eindhoven and Helmond) are selected as the urban area, there are significant differences between the urban and the rural area. These results can be found in table 4.3.3. Similarly to the national and regional level, differences hide within the average of the urban area as defined by the MRE-region. Noticeably, this analysis resulted only in negative significant deviations. The urban area when defined by Eindhoven and Helmond, does not have a significantly better performance regarding any aspect of quality of life. This is contradictory to the large focus the region places on the urban area. Furthermore, the framework was applied with data regarding multiple years, conducting a trend analysis. Overall, the developments were positive with the largest growth regarding the themes housing, but there were some exceptions. Especially the negative development regarding the sub-theme economical participation. The results were also compared to the political discourse. It showed that the region as a whole focused on (sub-)themes that were already performing well like health and physical safety but also on (sub-)themes that are underperforming such as water quality, energy resources and soil. Furthermore, some municipalities prioritised certain themes when they experienced a low performance, but others did not. This applies to the municipalities Eindhoven and Hel- mond regarding the theme trust. On the other hand, there were also some municipalities that underperformed, but did not mentione the (sub-)theme as a priority. It can be concluded that there is no clear connection between the performance regarding a (sub-)theme and the political agenda. The political agenda is not designed to improve low performing aspects regarding quality of life. It appears that other factors play a role as well in determining the political focus.
The final step of this study was to compare the CES-recommendations with the priorities re- garding quality of life of the MRE-region. The CES-recommendations have a clear structure and apply the three dimensions. The municipalities of the MRE-region do aspire towards an increase in quality of life, but they do not apply the dimensions directly. They are in- directly present in the political discourse. A large number of (sub-)themes presented by the CES-recommendations overlapped with priorities of the MRE-region. These (sub-)themes are
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 63 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION
considered to be important for quality of life on a national level as well as for the MRE-region. These (sub-)themes are presented in table 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 There are also (sub-)themes that are about the same topic, but have a different focus point. This applies to education, health, mineral resources, energy resources, institutions and trust. If the framework were to capture quality of life as presented by the MRE-region, some in- dicators should be added to capture the same perspective regarding these (sub-)themes. For example, indicators regarding the theme education should not only be about the number of years people attend school but they should also include quality of education programs and the connection with demands of the local industry. The (sub-)themes leisure. water resources, financial capital, income, nutrition and physical capital from the CES-recommendation were not considered to be a priority in the MRE- region. Why they were not considered to be a priority remains unclear, but these themes might get overlooked. Regarding the dimension ‘elsewhere’, the CES-recommendations could not be applied in a quantitative manner, but they can be applied qualitatively. The ambition to increase quality of life in the MRE-region effects the quality of life in other regions in different ways. Some of these effects are intentional and meant to help other regions improve its quality of life. For example, to focus to develop innovations that can contribute to broader societal problems. There are also effects that are not part of the political discourse. For instance, the allocation of resources used by the industry and attracting talent from other regions. This does not necessarily mean that these effects are overlooked, but it is safe to say that they are not considered to be of high importance. Even though, the dimension is not clearly present in the political discourse, the ambition of the MRE-region has a connection with the themes mineral resources, climate, labor and energy of the CES-recommendations. The themes and indicators which are present in the political discourse of the MRE-region but not in the CES-recommendations can be considered to be incorporated in a regional monitoring tool.
This research concludes that the CES-recommendations can be used as a starting point for the development of a regional framework. The dimensions and themes presented are strongly embedded in academic literature and are globally recognised. It stands to reason that they are not only important to quality of life on a national level, but also on a regional level. This research considers the CES-recommendations as the foundation to develop a regional monitor to measure quality of life. Furthermore, as mentioned in section 5.4, applying the CES-recommendations does result in clear policy implications. It allows for informed decision making and can be used as the foundation for inter-municipal partnerships. Due to the national nature of the CES-recommendations, the corresponding themes sub- themes and indicators could be broadened to capture quality of life on a regional level. Based on the political discourse analysis, there are some differences between the themes presented by the CES-recommendations and the perception of the MRE-region regarding quality of life. Therefore, it might be necessarily to add new themes and add some indicators to the existing themes. This study has showed the usefulness of the CES-recommendations for analysing quality of life on a regional level. However, it also questions the appropriate boundaries of a region. The MRE-region barely differed from the average of the Netherlands. On the other hand, the municipalities showed an abundance of significant deviations. These results suggest that a regional monitoring tool should analyse at a municipal level.
64 Measuring quality of life on a regional level CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION
Furthermore, the lack of available data regarding the dimension ‘elsewhere’ makes most of the themes and indicators of this dimension not applicable to quantify on a regional level. However, the themes regarding importing and exporting materials, labor and energy do match with the ambitions of the MRE-region. The results of this study show the importance of at least some of the themes of the dimension ‘elsewhere’ in the MRE-region. Only, to incorporate it properly in a regional framework, more regional data is needed.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 65 Chapter 7
Discussion
The national framework presented by the CES-recommendations was developed to apply to all countries and to allow for comparison. The themes and indicators used had to apply on countries in different stages of development. A developed country such as the Netherlands can have a different perspective on quality of life than a less developed country. Basic human necessities such as food and clean drinking water are widely available within most developed countries. As a result, the focus for improving quality of life shifts to other aspects. For instance, within the MRE-region, health is considered to be an important part of quality of life. However, the focus is not on hospitals and doctors, but on loneliness and elderly care. This might explain the different focus points between the MRE-region and the CES- recommendations for some of the themes. If these differences would be adopted to a regional framework, it might not be applicable anymore to all countries in the world due to data issues. It stands to reason that there is less data regarding topics that are considered to be of less importance. Added themes and indicators based on case studies in the Netherlands, might not be suitable for global comparison. This would undermine one of the core principles behind the CES-recommendations. This study believes that a regional monitoring framework that only applies fully to the Netherlands is still useful, but only for policy developments in the Netherlands. It can no longer be used for international comparisons, but within the Netherlands it allows for a more accurate account of quality of life. It can steer policy developments and future research within the Netherlands.
In this study, the MRE-region was used as a case study, it represented the regional level. This region is known for its specific characteristics such as Brainport. These characteristics have impacted the perception of quality of life as was shown in chapter The Metropolitan Region Eindhoven. Hence, the perception of the MRE-region does not necessarily represent the perception of other regions. Furthermore, the similarities and differences presented in this study might not apply to another region. To develop a framework that includes all themes and indicators considered to be of importance by different regions in the Netherlands, more regions need to be analysed. However, the results of this study do indicate that the themes and indicators of the CES-recommendations have to be expanded to fully capture quality of life on a regional level. Also, the results provide insights in possible extensions. Institutions such as the CBS, which are developing a regional framework, can use the results of this study to gather additional insights in relevant themes and indicators.
According to the academic theory, quality of life has a strong connection with the direct
66 Measuring quality of life on a regional level CHAPTER 7. DISCUSSION living environment. Due to this, a regional approach is important in addition to a national approach. However, the analysis of the MRE-region showed that there were barely any signi- ficant differences compared to the Netherlands and none when compared to North-Brabant. Overall, the MRE-region appears to be a good representative of the Netherlands. However, the differences occur on the sub-regional and the municipal level. Differences are hiding within the regional average in a similar way as they are within the national average. The regional level does provide additional insights in quality of life. How- ever, for most themes the results of this study did not show significant differences between the regional level and the corresponding country or the province. These differences mostly occurred on the municipal level. Some also occurred on a sub-regional level. To provide an accurate representation of quality of life in the MRE-region it is important to include a sub-regional and municipal level as well. Based on the results of this research, the boundaries of a region should be smaller to cap- ture the direct living environment. The large differences between the municipalities of the MRE-region indicate that quality of life is experienced on a municipal level. However, the argument could be made that the municipal level does not have a close enough connection with the direct living environment. Within municipalities, large differences in quality of life can occur as well as on a regional or national level. This seems to apply especially to cities. By that logic, quality of life needs to be analysed on a neighbourhood level to provide an accurate representation and capture the direct living environment. The question becomes: On which level should quality of life be analysed? This study argues that every level has its own value. Only, not everyone values these levels the same way. This applies especially to different levels of government. Therefore, it is important to ask which level has value to whom. This is a question that should be answered when developing a regional monitoring tool.
A lot of regional data is needed when analysing quality of life on a regional level. Only, there is significantly less data publicly available which is applicable on a regional level compared to a national level. As a result, this study could not quantify all (sub-)themes regarding quality of life. This especially applies to the dimension ‘elsewhere’. Noticeably, a lack of available data is not the same as a lack of data. It is just difficult to access. The CBS has started to develop a regional version of the monitor of well-being. Even though the CBS does not have a lot of regional data in their public database, it stands to reason that they do posses this information. Otherwise it would be difficult to apply a regional version of the monitor of well-being. It is detrimental if the CBS keeps most of the regional data to themselves. By doing so, it becomes more difficult for other academic studies to analyse quality of life on a different level than the national one. This is especially the case for data regarding different regions within municipalities. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, large differences can hide within the municipal level as well. Hence, studies that look at different levels to identify these differences are important as well. Having more publicly available data in addition to data on the national level could allow for more research into quality of life. With the growing need for inclusive monitoring tools that can capture quality of life, these types of research are becoming increasingly important. This should be the concern of the CBS because of its function to publish reliable statistical data about the Netherlands. Furthermore, the CBS is developing a regional monitoring tool. Additional research into quality of life on different levels can actually help the CBS in its own
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 67 CHAPTER 7. DISCUSSION
developments. The lack of available regional data is not only important for the CBS, but also for municip- alities. The governing body of the municipalities should be aware of differences within its region. Otherwise, they can not be addressed properly by policy developments.
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Measuring quality of life on a regional level 71 Appendix A
Dashboards CES-recommendations for sustainable development
This chapter of the appendix shows the original dashboards from the CES-recommendations for sustainable development. These dashboards present the small list of indicators from the CES-recommendations. The dashboard regarding the three dimensions are presented in table A.0.1 to table A.0.3.
72 Measuring quality of life on a regional level APPENDIX A. DASHBOARDS CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT US per capita $ of a base year in 1 per day 2 3 /m x g PM µ 3 x Income inequality Gender pay gab GINI coefficient score 0-1 % difference in hourly wages m/f Threatened species Number of species The themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘here and now’ from the CES-recommendations Table A.0.1: Theme Subjective well-being Consumption and income Consumption expenditure Life satisfaction Nutrition Health At constantLabor prices Indicator and PPP Education Housing Leisure Score 1-10 Physical safety Obesity prevalence Land & ecosystems Life expectancyWater at quality Educational birth attainment EmploymentAir rate quality ProtectedUnit Death areas Trust Living by w/o assault housing% deprivation Institutions %Leisure of time populationYears aged% 15+ with upper secondaryWater education quality aged index 25-64 % ofUrban population exposure to PM %Deaths of perVoter (marine 100.000 turnout and) populations terrestrial area Generalized trust Place holder Minutes per day Score% 0-10 of eligible electorate
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 73 APPENDIX A. DASHBOARDS CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Table A.0.2: The themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘later’ from the CES- recommendations
Theme Indicator Unit Human capital Health Life expectancy Years Labor Employment rate % of population Education Educational attainment % with upper secondary education Natural capital Land & ecosystems Protected areas % of (marine and) terrestrial area Threatened species Number of species Water Water resources Billion or Million m3 3 Air quality Urban exposure to PMx µg PMx/m per day Climate Global CO2 concentration Parts per million (ppm) State of the ozone layer Area of the ozone hole in million km2 Energy resources Energy consumption Thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) Renewable energy % of total final energy consumption Mineral resources Recycling rate % of total waste generated Social capital Trust Generalized trust Score 0-10 Institutions Voter turnout % of the eligible electorate Economic capital Physical capital Physical capital stock Index 2005 =100 Knowledge capital Knowledge capital stock Place holder Financial capital Assets minus liabilities % of GDP
74 Measuring quality of life on a regional level APPENDIX A. DASHBOARDS CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Table A.0.3: The themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘elsewhere’ from the CES-recommendations
Themes Indicator Unit Consumption and income Official development assistance % of GNI4 Imports from developing countries Constant US PPP $ Human capital Labor Migration of human capital Place holder Natural capital Land & ecosystems Land footprint (foreign part) Place holder Water Water footprint (foreign part) Place holder Climate Carbon footprint (foreign part) Place holder Energy resources Imports of energy resources Constant US PPP $ Mineral resources Import of mineral resources Constant US PPP $ Social capital Institutions Contribution to international institutions Place holder Economic capital Physical capital Export of physical capital Constant US PPP $ Knowledge capital Exports of knowledge capital Place holder Financial capital Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) % of GDP
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 75 Appendix B
Regionalized dashboards based on the CES-recommendations for sustainable development
This chapter of the appendix shows the re-framed dashboards of the CES-recommendations as used in this study. It presents the themes, sub-themes indicators and units for the dimensions ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. The dimensions ‘here and now’ is presented in table B.0.1. The dimension ‘later’ is presented in table B.0.2.
76 Measuring quality of life on a regional level APPENDIX B. REGIONALIZED DASHBOARDS BASED ON THE CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 5000 available € x 1000 - € 1 Obesity Mental healthcare costs Chronicle illness Not enough exercise Risky behaviour Distance general practitioner Costs/person Distance hospital Medication use km Quality hospital %Life%% of expectancy not with population applying chronicle to conditions the norm % exhibiting risky behaviour km % that usesScore medication 0-100 Years - Poor households Unemployment money Long lasting unemployment Household wealth Domestic residual% waste of the%Organic total of waste potential the labor total force potentialOld% labor paper of force and total cardboard households Glass Plastic waste %kg/inhabitant with more than kg/inhabitant kg/inhabitant kg/inhabitant kg/inhabitant The re-framed themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘here and now’ Table B.0.1: Nutrition Health Categories Subjective wellbeing Consumption and income Economic participation Indicator GINI index Waste & resources Total domestic waste Income Score 0-1 Unit kg/inhabitant Average personal income There is no available data regarding this theme on a regional level 1
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 77 APPENDIX B. REGIONALIZED DASHBOARDS BASED ON THE CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Perceived health Employment rate Utilised labor potential Unemployment Incapacitated for labor Grey pressure %Greening perceives health to% be of good potentialJobs/potential workforce workforce Distance to primary school Distance% to of high-school total workforce Final% grades of totalUndelayed workforce graduation certificate km Premature drop outs Index duration%Youth high unemployment age school rates 65+ km Employment level % age 15-25 Housing satisfaction % of youthLiving which environment are satisfaction unemployed %Facilities with satisfaction noIndex qualifications average% grade Distance satisfied to with daily living facilities Net environment migration% rate low educated Empty houses %Affordable satisfied rental with homes housing Affordablekm owner% occupies satisfied homes with facilities % of- total owner occupied homes Per% 1000 ofConfused inhabitants total people rental homes % of houses Number per 1000 inhabitants Table B.0.1 continued from previous page Categories Labor Indicator Education Unit Housing Leisure Physical safety
78 Measuring quality of life on a regional level APPENDIX B. REGIONALIZED DASHBOARDS BASED ON THE CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2 2 emissions kg/inhabitant emissions kg/inhabitant 2 2 Violent crimes Property crimes Vandalism Youth criminality Traffic safety Child abuse Perceived safety Reaction time police Number perNumber 1000 per inhabitants 1000 inhabitants Number perSpreading 10000 soil inhabitants pollution NumberEcological per soil 1000 pollution inhabitants HardenedAccidents surface per km% road Nitrogen% PRIO deposition which 1 regularly% notifications feel of unsafe kids that areNumber abused Number %mole/ha/year of total surface Red list species Naturalness landscape Fish stock Quality macro fauna Quality water flora PhysicalScore chemical 0-4 quality Other substances Number/km Priority substances Nitrogen emissions %Phosphate of% emission water of bodies water bodies % of waterCO bodies % of water bodies % of% water of bodies water bodies kg/ha kg/ha SO Table B.0.1 continued from previous page Categories Indicator Land & ecosystems Soil Nature & landscape Unit Biodiversity Human soil pollution Number Number/km Water quality Air quality
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 79 APPENDIX B. REGIONALIZED DASHBOARDS BASED ON THE CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 3 3 3 g/m g/m g/m µ µ µ 5 . 2 2 3 emissions kg/inhabitant 5 . 2 PM NMVOS emissions Concentration SO Concentration O Concentration PM kg/inhabitant Social cohesion Social contacts Loneliness Trust in other people Volunteers Donner registrations Active in associations Informal care Score 1-10 %% whichPolitical indicates indicating active frequent to contacts have trustTurn in out others municipal% elections registered %Turn out with national% high elections participating lonelinessPolitical associations scores trust % which% undertakes of volunteer total work voting population % of% total which voting provides population informal care % participating in politics % indicating a high level of trust Table B.0.1 continued from previous page Categories Indicator Unit Trust Institutions
80 Measuring quality of life on a regional level APPENDIX B. REGIONALIZED DASHBOARDS BASED ON THE CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Table B.0.2: The re-framed themes and corresponding indicators regarding the dimension ‘later’
Theme Indicator Unit Human capital Health Mental healthcare costs Costs/person Chronicle illness % with chronicle conditions Not enough exercise % not applying to the norm Risky behaviour % with risky behaviour Distance general practitioner km Distance hospital km Medication use % that uses medication Quality hospital Score 0-100 Life expectancy Years Perceived health % perceives health to be good Labor Employment rate Jobs/potential workforce Utilised labor potential % of potential workforce Unemployment % of total workforce Incapacitated for labor % of total workforce Grey pressure % age 65+ Greening % age 15-25 Education Distance to primary school km Distance to high-school km Final grades Index average grade Undelayed graduation certificate Index duration high school Premature drop outs % with no qualifications youth unemployment rates % unemployed Employment level % low educated Natural capital Soil Human soil pollution Number Spreading soil pollution Number Ecological soil pollution Number Hardened surface % of total surface Nitrogen deposition mole/ha/year Nature & landscape Biodiversity Number/km2 Red list species Number/km2 Naturalness landscape Score 0-4 Water-- Climate & air qualityCO 2 emissions kg/inhabitant SO2 emissions kg/inhabitant PM2.5 emissions kg/inhabitant NMVOS emissions kg/inhabitant 3 Concentration SO2 µg/m 3 Concentration O3 µg/m 3 Concentration PM2.5 µg/m Energy resources Electricity use companies kWh/employee per year Gas use companiesm 3/employee per year
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 81 APPENDIX B. REGIONALIZED DASHBOARDS BASED ON THE CES-RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Energy label houses Score Electricity use households kWh per year Gas use householdsm 3 per year Solar panels kW-peak/km2 Wind energy kW/ha Mineral resources Total domestic waste kg/inhabitant Domestic residual waste kg/inhabitant Organic waste kg/inhabitant Old paper and cardboard kg/inhabitant Glass kg/inhabitant Plastic waste kg/inhabitant Social capital Trust Social cohesion Score 1-10 Social contacts % indicating frequent contacts Loneliness % with high loneliness scores Trust in other people % indicating trust in others Volunteers % undertaking volunteer work Donner registrations % registered Active associations % participating in associations Informal care % which provides informal care Institutions Political active % participating in politics Turn out municipal elections % of total voting population Turn out national elections % of total voting population Political trust % indicating a high level of trust Economical capital Physical capital-- Knowledge capital Creative industry % employees of total workforce High, medium-tech employment % of total workforce Capacity WO and HBO % enrolment of total population Knowledge workers % of total workforce High educated % of potential workforce Financial capital Median wealth households € x1000
82 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Appendix C
Methodology to determine deviations
This chapter of the appendix presents the methodology used to determine the deviation from an average. The performance for each theme is considered to be in accordance with a normal distribution. The methodology to determine the deviation is based on a normal distribution.
Normal distribution The deviations are expressed in z-values. The z-value can have a positive and negative sign. It indicates if the deviation is positive of negative. The z-value represents the deviation of the MRE-region compared to the average of the Netherlands and North-Brabant based on their standard deviation. The deviations are calculated for the region as a whole and its individual municipalities. There are different categories for different z-values. These categories determine the level of deviation. The different categories are presented in table C.0.11.
Table C.0.1: Categorizing the different z-values into average, deviating slightly and deviating signi- ficantly
Category Positive z-value Negative z-value Average z < 0.5 z > −0.5 Deviating slightly 0.5 < z ≤ 1.5 −1.5 ≤ z < −0.5 Deviating significantly z > 1.5 z < −1.5
North-Brabant and the Netherlands both have a different average and standard deviation regarding each indicator which means they have different normal distributions. For each indicator the average and the standard deviation is calculated for both North-Brabant and the Netherlands. The following equation is used to calculate the standard deviation: v u N u 1 X σ = t (x − µ)2 N i i=1
1These criteria are also used by the agency for the living environment (Plan Bureau voor de Leefomgeving) of the Netherlands when comparing performances of sustainability indicators.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 83 APPENDIX C. METHODOLOGY TO DETERMINE DEVIATIONS
Where N is the amount of data points, xi is the value of the corresponding data point and µ is the mean of the data set.
Finally, the z-value is calculated by taking the difference between the score regarding an indicator of the MRE-region and the average of the Netherlands and North-Brabant. The difference is divided with the corresponding standard deviation.
84 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Appendix D
The regional monitoring tool from Telos
This chapter of the appendix presents additional information regarding the regional data provided by Telos.
The idea from Telos regarding quality of life is based on people, planet profit and sustainability (Telos, 2019). Since 2014 they conduct a yearly analyses and publish a report showing the scores of all the municipalities in the Netherlands. Similar to the CBS, this monitoring tool incorporates the quality of life of future generations.
The monitor of Telos is built like a pyramid. The structure is shown in figure D.0.1 and further explained in this section. At the top, Telos expresses quality of life as a number. This number is the municipality specific average. The average is composed of three themes: social cultural, ecological and economical. These themes represent the second layer. Each theme is also an average based on its own set of indicators. These indicators form the third layer. The average of these indicators is presented as the score for the corresponding theme. However, these indicators are also averages composed of an other layer of indicators: sub-indicators. They form the fourth and final layer.
Average score
Themes
Indicators
Sub-indicators
Figure D.0.1: The underlying structure of the National Monitor Sustainable Cities from Telos
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 85 APPENDIX D. THE REGIONAL MONITORING TOOL FROM TELOS
The scores for each indicator are expressed in percentages. The maximum scores, 100 percent, represents the best score a municipality can achieve. Some are originally expressed as a percentage, others are converted into them. The converted percentages are based on a range between a set bottom-value and top-value. This is a standard way of converting outcomes into a percentage. However, Telos does not publish on how these values are set. By converting the unit of every indicator into a percentage, indicators can be easily aggregated and compared.
Telos has provided this research with the data regarding the first three layers: the average score, the scores regarding the themes and the indicators. This data is available for every municipality in the Netherlands. However, the data regarding the fourth layer, the sub- indicators, has not been provided to this study. Therefore, the data regarding the indicators is used to fill in the dashboards.
86 Measuring quality of life on a regional level Appendix E
List of documents used in the discourse analysis
This chapter contains a list of all the documents used by this study for the discourse analysis. This list is presented in table E.0.1.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 87 APPENDIX E. LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED IN THE DISCOURSE ANALYSIS 47465/ Presenting all documents used for the discourse analysis Municipality Helmond. (2009). Klimaatbeleid.Helmond. Helmond op weg naar klimaatneutraliteit. Municipality Bergeijk. (2018). Coalitieakkoordperiode ”Samen 2018-2022. Doen” Bergeijk. CDAcoalitieakkoord-samen-doen-cda-vvd-periode-2018-2022 https://www.bergeijk.nl/bestuur-en-organisatie/ - VVD, Municipality Eersel. (2018). Coalitieakkoord.https://www.eersel.nl/coalitieakkoord Eersel. Municipality Eindhoven. (2018). ZuinigEindhoven. op elkaar, op de stad en op de toekomst. Municipality Reusel-De Mierden. (2018).2018-2022. Coalitieprogramma Reusel-De Mierden Municipality Son en Breugel.Son (2018). en Samen Breugel. bouwen aan een mooier Table E.0.1: Type of documentAim transition urban areasBrainport agenda 2020Climate policy Helmond Climateplan EindhovenCoalition agreement Asten Metropolitan RegionCoalition Eindhoven. agreement (2020). Bergeijk Regionaal Reference streefbeeld van ons Brainport landelijkCoalition Development. gebied. agreement (2020). Best JaarplanCoalition 2020. agreement Eindhoven BladelCoalition agreement Municipality Municipality Cranendonck Eindhoven. Asten. (2016).Coalition (2018). Klimaatplan agreement Samen 2016 Deurne op - weg 2020. naar Eindhoven. eenCoalition duurzaam agreement vitaal Eersel Asten!. Asten. Municipality Cranendonck. (2018).Coalition agreement Raadsprogramma Municipality Eindhoven 2018-2022. Best. Municipality Cranendonck. Bladel. (2018). (2018). BeleidsakkoordCoalition 2018-2022. Raadsprogramma agreement 2018-2022. Geldrop-Mierlo Best. Bladel. MunicipalityCoalition Deurne. agreement Gemert-Bakel (2018). RaadsprogrammaCoalition 2018-2022. agreement Heeze-Leende Deurne Coalition Municipality agreement Geldrop-Mierlo. Helmond (2017).Coalition Geldrop-Mierlo, agreement een Laarbeek Municipality plek Gemert-Bakel. metCoalition hart. (2018). agreement Nuenen Coalitieakkoord. Municipality c.a. Heeze-Leende. (2018).Coalition Coalitieakkoord agreement Heeze-Leende Reusel-De 2018-2022. Mierden Coalition agreement Municipality Someren Helmond. (2018). Municipality CoalitieakkoordCoalition Laarbeek. Gemeente Municipality agreement Helmond. Nuenen (2018). Son c.a. Helmond. Handen en (2018). ineen. Breugel Nuenen Laarbeek. Coalition c.a. agreement voor Valkenswaard nu, ´ende toekomst. Nuenen. Municipality Someren. (2018). Coalitie Municipality Programma Valkenswaard. 2018-2022. (2018). Someren. Koersvast en vernieuwend. Valkenswaard.
88 Measuring quality of life on a regional level APPENDIX E. LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED IN THE DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Table E.0.1 continued from previous page Municipality Geldrop-Mierlo. (2018). DeLeren, kracht beleven van en cultuur. samen doen. Metropool Regio Eindhoven. (2020).Metropoolregio Concept Eindhoven. Regionale Energystrategie (RES). Municipality Helmond. (2012). MilieuvisieHelmond. Helmond 2025. Duurzaam op weg. van Oosterhout, M. andEnergieneutraal Schaeffers, in D. 2025. (2008). Milieudienst. Klimaatvisie Kempengemeenten. Municipality Bergeijk, Municipality Bladel,Municipality Municipality Reusel-De Eersel Mierden. and (2019). Kempische visie opMunicipality wonen Eindhoven. 2019-2023. (2013). Eindhovenen op locaties weg. in Duurzaam Eindhoven verbinden veelzijdige van stad. mensen Eindhoven. Brainport Eindhoven. (2020). RegioVoortgangsrapportage Deal 2019. Brainport Eindhoven. Eindhoven Foolen, M. (2018). Veiligheidsmonitorleefbaarheid Geldrop-Mierlo en 2017, veiligheid Onderzoek in naar Geldrop-Mierlo. de Type of documentCoalition agreement VeldhovenCoalition agreement WaalreCooperation agreement MRECultural policy Geldrop-Mierlo MunicipalityCultural Veldhoven. (2018). policy Reusel-De Coalitie-Akkoord. Mierden Veldhoven. Energy strategy Municipality Waalre. (2018). Metropool Regio WaalresEnvironmental Reference Akkoord Eindhoven. policy 2018-2022. (2019). Waalre. Samenwerkingsakkoord MunicipalityEnvironmental 2019-2022. Reusel-De vision Mierden. Eindhoven (2014). Verbinden doorEnvironmental cultuur. vision Helmond Environmental vision Reusel-De Mierden MunicipalityEnvironmental Eindhoven. Municipality vision (2017). Reusel-De the Mierden. Groenbeleidsplan. Kempen (2007). Eindhoven. Visie. Housing vision Reusel-De Mierden Municipality Reusel-DeHousing Mierden. vision (2009). the Beleidsplan Kempen Bos enImplementation natuur. agenda Eindhoven Municipality Reusel-DeMobility Mierden. vision (2013). Eindhoven Maatwerk in wonen.Public Woonvisie health 2013 report -2018. Municipality Eindhoven. Reusel-DeRegio Mierden (2016). Deal Doen: samenRegio werken Deal van aan Bree, een P. betere and binnenstad. Ensinck,Regional K. Eindhoven. Deal (2012). Op weg naar een gezonder Reusel-DeSafety Mierden. monitor Geldrop-Mierlo GGD. Rijksoverheid. (2017). Regio Deal Brainport Brainport Eindhoven. Eindhoven. (2019). Den Living Haag. and building the dream.
Measuring quality of life on a regional level 89 APPENDIX E. LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED IN THE DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Table E.0.1 continued from previous page Municipality Bergeijk, Municipality Best,Municipality Municipality Oirschot, Bladel, Municipality Municipality Reusel-De Eersel, and Mierden, Municipality Municipality Waalre. Veldhoven (2019).Municipality Integraal Asten, veligheidsplan Municipality 2019-2022. Deurne,Municipality Municipality Helmond, Gemert-Bakel, Municipality Laarbeek,en Municipality Maas. Someren and (2017). waterschap Ruimtelijkelandschap AA agenda als de basis. Peel.Municipality Een Deurne gezamelijke and ruimtelijke Municipality agendaCentrumgebied Helmond. met Groene het (2011). Peelvallei. Structuurvisie de Geus, S., Zuidhoff,Metropoolregio P., Nelissen, Eindhoven. M. BRO and van Och, R. (2017). Integrale Strategie Ruimte Type of documentSafety plan the Kempen Spacial agenda the Peel Spacial policy Reference green Peel valley Spacial policy MRE Sustainability policy Geldrop-MierloSustainability report AstenVision for the futureVision Municipality Asten for Geldrop-Mierlo. the (2016). futureVision Nota Helmond for duurzaamheid Geldrop-Mierlo the 2016-2019. future Reusel-De Mierden Municipality Reusel-De Mierden. Municipality (2013). Asten. Gezamenlijk, (2017). Grenzeloos Plan en van Groen. Aanpak Municipality Municipality Helmond. duurzaamheid Asten. Asten (2013). (2017). 2017-2020. Helmond Asten2030. Asten. werkt. Toekomstagenda Stadsvisie Gemeente 2030. Asten. Helmond. Asten.
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