Objectifying the subjective: The measurement of environmental quality

Abstract

The paper begins by examining the nature and measurement of environmental quality (EQ) pointing to the tensions between insider and outsider accounts and lay and expert perceptions. Lay accounts are seen as particularly crucial in residential environments and QoL research into these fields is assessed. But QoL and EQ are seen as closely related phenomena. While there exist important concepts and approaches e.g. relating to the nature of places and the significance of contextual data, it is argued that ethnographic investigations and the theory of structuration may help reconcile the tensions and that all approaches will lead to better interpretation, understanding and explanation of the nature of the subjective world.