Claudia Andrea Mikkelsen

Comparación entre índices de calidad de vida: La población rural del partido de General Pueyrredón, 2001-2007

The ancestral vocation of rural areas, associated with food production, has entered in a competition process with new land uses during recent decades. Thus, the residential function starts to become in an election that impulses the development of a service economy related with rural areas. This phenomenon of rural spaces commercialization associated with the enjoyment of nature and the improvement of life quality represents a renewed subject in current geographical literature. Nevertheless, not all rural spaces are affected by this phenomenon, reflecting a frag mentation of rural areas. In this context our goal is to contribute to the recognition of these territorial fragments by sizing standards of quality of life in the rural space of the municipality of General Pueyrredon.

How Are We Today? Quality of Urban Life in Argentina First Contributions from the Households Permanent Survey (2003–2012)

To reflect on the population’s quality of life is always an exciting assignment, since such challenge includes all of us beyond the social role we play. It can be understood as a measure of achievement, determined by the scale of values prevailing in society. It is about developing social objective indicators in a given time and space, sustained in the theoretical analysis, and integrated into a coherent system of variables and dimensions. Our aim is to investigate the levels of quality of life of the urban population in Argentina between 2003 and 2012, a period called Post-convertibility in Argentina and marked by the implementation of a new model of accumulation with discrepant peculiarities with regard to the previous model of “convertibility” (1991–2001). For that purpose an index of quality of life is applied to cities where the Permanent Household Survey is run, consisting of the Education, Health Care, Work and Housing dimensions. Therefore, these are attempts to analyze what happened with the well-being of Argentine households over the past 10 years.

Spatial Segregation and Quality of Life: Empirical Analysis of Medium-Sized Cities of Buenos Aires Province

In Latin America, there are few empirical studies that analyze the spatial segregation and quality of life at intra-urban scales and the existing association between the two categories. Neighborhood spatial configuration influences human behavior because the population is segregated in a systematic, not random, pattern. This research measures spatial segregation and quality of life in two midsize cities of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, by evaluating from a statistical and geographical point of view how the variations in spatial segregation impact the quality-of-life index. Thematic mapping and scattered plots allowed us to visualize the spatial arrangement of residential areas according to both categories. While in both cities there is an associated pattern of distribution between the two categories, the smaller city showed a better performance.

Quality of Life and Commuting. A Study in Rururban Communities of General Pueyrredon District, Argentina

Search for quality of life of the population becomes one of the explanatory causes of residential mobility. Residents move within the territory, use it, make it dynamic and, at the same time, it offers them possibilities or difficulties. In this sense, the processes of urban growth, which spread population centers around road networks, encourage the intensification of everyday commuting and the demands for new services, among which the public passenger transport system and the educational and health infrastructure are leaders (health centers, sewer, main water supply). Currently, in General Pueyrredon County (620,000 inhabitants, 2010) (Buenos Aires, Argentina), commuting becomes visible due to the expansion of the urban conglomerate headed by Mar del Plata and the growth of small towns, close to the access routes to the main town, where the population forms communities that are distinguished by their strong interpersonal links, meanings, values, and shared interests. The study area comprehends the whole of the district, but underlines localities having less than 10,000 inhabitants, as it is the area which, over the past three decades, has shown greater demographic and housing growth rate. Accordingly, our aim is to increase people’s awareness over uneven regular movements of inhabitants of rural–urban communities of General Pueyrredon County, taking into account the design of the public transport network, the location of schools and health centers, with the aim of deepening the analysis of the well-being conditions of the people residing there. Methodologically, we use systematized and analyzed data of the national censuses of 1991, 2001 and 2010, attained by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), with the purpose of studying demographic growth and the composition of households. We also exploit secondary data that allow characterizing public educational and health services in the studied communities. Similarly, we utilize primary data of commuting and geographic narratives linked to living in minor localities within General Pueyrredon County, evaluated as significant testimonies that allow interpreting and understanding the dynamics observed in the territory. We apply quantitative as well as qualitative analysis techniques, and a system of geographic information for the treatment of georeferenced data. Results will illustrate the inequality of opportunities in commuting and the generation and consolidation of situations of vulnerability in the analyzed communities, in relation to their quality of life.

Neighborhood and Housing as Explanatory Scales of Children’s Quality of Life

This article analyzes the work developed with 1062 children aged 8 and 10 – who live in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in large and small cities – with the aim of measuring two dimensions: housing/home and neighborhood, in conjunction with the variable gender. This analysis will comprise housing/home, the place where they sleep, their home situation, their degree of agreement regarding their homes, and the frequency of family activities – in all cases – according to gender; on the other hand, and in relation to the neighborhood, the level of agreement with its characteristics, and their degree of satisfaction with it, will also – in both cases – be carried out according to gender. Regarding the household where the surveyed boys and girls reside, in general lines, they have given highly positive answers both regarding safety itself and as a form of emotional support; they have likewise given highly positive accounts of how they are heard and looked after by their families – though they show less satisfaction with the space they have to study and do their homework in their dwellings, which points to housing issues. As to their neighborhood of residence, 70% of the 8 year-old surveyed boys and girls express that they are highly satisfied. Regarding 10 year-old boys and girls, the percentage drops to approximately 60%.

Free Time, Friends and Future: A Quality of Life Study with 8 Years Old Children in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

The aim of this chapter is to show some results of a project for the study and the measurement of well-being and quality of life of 590 boys and girls of 8 years old, living in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We use the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being, with the intention of collecting information on the well-being of boys and girls. In this chapter we will focus on the results obtained for the dimensions: friends, use of free time, more about you and your life, facts of life and the future. The results showed that concerning friendship, 66% of the 8 years old boys and girls indicated to completely agree with respect to the kindness of their friends while 75% said that they have sufficient amount of friends. About the use of free time, half the children carry out after school activities nearly every day, and a quarter of them once or twice a week. About their life, the facts of their life, and their future, 80% totally agree with the lives they lead, while 64,44% express that their lives are completely in accordance with what they want them to be. On the other hand, 86% completely agree to the fact that they have a good life. As to the question of having what they want from life, the percentage is 68%, while 77% assert that their lives are excellent.

Leisure Space and Quality of Life. An Approach to Their Relationship: The Case of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

From a geographical point of view, the scientific approach to leisure space is still emerging in connection with its incorporation and significance within the range of values characteristic of postmodern society. In turn, evaluations on quality of life of the population have barely advanced with respect to leisure as to other traditional dimensions. In this sense, we find fertile grounds on which we can contribute to the construction of knowledge about the overall treatment of leisure space and quality of life.