2025’s Leading Cities for Quality of Life

What are three key factors that contribute to a high quality of life in urban areas?

First, we know that when people have access to nature and green spaces they are happier and healthier. The biophilia hypothesis states that exposure to natural sounds, like water, and to dynamic natural light, can improve our mental health and focus. Research also shows that even simple changes like adding street trees can improve health outcomes for urban residents and even extend life expectancies. 

Second, in many ways, how we get around determines the quality of our everyday lives. Our commutes can be easy or challenging, and leave us refreshed or truly miserable. When urban infrastructure supports a wide variety of transportation options and considers the needs of all users (children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and so on), people can more easily connect to one another and to social, educational, and economic opportunities.  

Finally, because much of our quality of life is determined by public spaces and public services, effective and responsive government is key. Public officials must anticipate, study, and plan for the needs of their communities in terms of infrastructure, public safety, and community wellbeing. By creating opportunities for community input and utilizing best practices in urban and community development, local governments can substantially improve quality of life.

How do environmental factors, such as air quality and green spaces, influence the quality of life in a city?

Not only do environmental factors like clean air and water quality impact public health, the environment can also improve the quality of our day to day lives. Having access to green spaces to exercise, play, and gather improves both our physical and mental health. Open spaces also have the capacity to help build social capital – the connections among members of a community that foster trust and support. For example, a park that is centrally located and accessible can be a site for everyday play by both children and adults, the venue for community festivals and celebrations, and an important means of connecting with nature. In this way, strong park systems can help create strong communities.

What are three ways urban planning and infrastructure impact residents’ quality of life?

First, good planning and infrastructure can make getting around much easier, safer, and more efficient. Planning is all about considering both current and future needs. For instance, when a city or region adequately understands how growth will impact demand for roads, mass transit, and air travel, infrastructure can be created to meet increasing needs without compromising the experience of current users. Supporting a wide variety of transportation options – pedestrian and cycle pathways, mass transit, as well as private vehicle travel – ensures that all kinds of people are able to make their way safely and efficiently.

Planning can also be instrumental in creating – or eroding – a sense of place. Creating and preserving special places, whether these are open spaces or historic sites, can call attention to the unique qualities and traditions of a city or town. For example, in Boise, Idaho, open space in the foothills provides an iconic backdrop that distinguishes the city from other western places. Similarly, the Boise River Greenbelt provides indispensable cycle and pedestrian infrastructure as well as a symbol of Boise’s laid back, outdoor lifestyle. 

Finally, we should also consider public services like libraries, parks, schools, community centers as key parts of infrastructure. Planning for the full needs of a community can help ensure that these resources have adequate capacity, are well staffed, and are responsive to community needs and interests.

What role do educational opportunities and institutions play in determining the quality of life in a city?

Not only do educational institutions serve current students, they can also play an important role as social and cultural institutions within their communities. For example, an elementary school may offer key services like afterschool programs and child care, as well as providing gathering places for clubs and organizations. Colleges and universities host events like lectures, films and theater productions as well as sporting events. In many places, higher education institutions bring cultural, intellectual and entertainment opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable. 

How do access to healthcare and public health services contribute to the quality of life in urban populations?

Many people do not consider the public health and healthcare infrastructure of their city or region until they need it – sometimes urgently! Rural areas, as well as amenity regions (places known for their natural beauty and recreational opportunities) often lack the health infrastructure needed to support all the needs of their communities. Residents may travel hundreds of miles for both specialized care and even routine procedures. Cities often have more robust healthcare infrastructures, such as hospitals, trauma centers, and specialists. When all residents have equal access to these services, quality of life in urban areas is greatly improved.

What are three key factors that contribute to a high quality of life in urban areas?

Because quality of life should be for all people, I would rate the most important factor as housing costs relative to wages. Because I value urbanism, a second factor would be the walkability and density of restaurants, shops, and services. A city’s walk score or transit score captures this pretty well. Third, parks and trails are essential to a high quality of life. I grew up in Minneapolis and all of my Minneapolis friends would agree that the park and parkway system was what made Minneapolis a great place to live. 

How do environmental factors, such as air quality and green spaces, influence the quality of life in a city?

Once a society achieves relative safety and a comfortable standard of living, a clean environment and access to natural areas become two of the most desired characteristics of a good place to live. We live in an era when large numbers of well-paid workers are employed in the knowledge economy and can live wherever they want to. Quality of life and especially environmental quality and outdoor recreation opportunities, then, become major factors in the choice of where to live. 

What are three ways urban planning and infrastructure impact residents’ quality of life?

Parks and infrastructure decisions shape urban life for centuries to come. Minneapolis is a beneficiary of an 1883 recommendation by planner H.W.S. Cleveland to create a system of linked parks and parkways. Chicago residents benefit from urban planner Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago which called for a continuous park along the Lake Michigan waterfront. Today, cities across the United States are trying to figure out how to undo the damage wrought by building interstate highways through inner-city communities in the 1950s and 1960s. 

How do economic variables like employment rates and cost of living affect the overall quality of life in different cities?

When considering the quality of urban areas, we need to ask “high quality of life for whom?” Urban areas that offer a high quality of life for affluent households might be out of reach for average earners. Or an urban area might offer a great quality of life for singles and double income no kids couples (DINKS) but cities need to emphasize the quality of life for families raising the next generation of children. When we map domestic moves within the United States, we can see the push factors of high housing costs and high taxes and the pull factor of strong employment opportunities.  

What role do educational opportunities and institutions play in determining the quality of life in a city?

The presence of a local research university is a strong predictor of regional success in today’s information economy. The economic and demographic turnaround of a city like Pittsburgh is inconceivable apart from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. But even regional universities and liberal arts colleges can contribute a great deal to quality of life when communities partner with universities and make themselves attractive so that university graduates choose to stay when they start their careers.  

What are three key factors that contribute to a high quality of life in urban areas?

Urban neighborhoods that consistently delight and serve their residents well, tend to share these characteristics:

1. People-friendly streets: Narrow, tree-lined, quiet, car-free or car-light streets 
2. Density: Enough residents and workers within a half-dozen to a dozen blocks to support key businesses and amenities, like bakeries, doctor’s offices, day-care, coffee shops, a public library, etc.
3. Public space: Shared areas that offer gathering places, social activities, nature, and athletics.

How do environmental factors, such as air quality and green spaces, influence the quality of life in a city?

People like being in places that are quiet, safe, and pleasant.  In cities, that mostly means keeping cars out, since they are the main sources of noise, air pollution, and physical danger.  Less space devoted to highways, wide streets and parking also means more room for shared green space.

In the U.S., urban green space outside of stand-alone parks usually consists of strips of sterile set-backs or postage-stamp yards.  Anyone who’s traveled abroad has seen a more attractive alternative. Picture a block lined with multi-family apartments, each unit on a single floor where the living room looks out over the street, while the bedrooms in the back open onto a shared courtyard for the whole block.  Plenty of room to combine amenities: restaurant patio, playground, community garden, picnic area, clotheslines, and just some shaded green space to relax in.

What are three ways urban planning and infrastructure impact residents’ quality of life?

A well-functioning community with a consistent built environment won’t happen if every property owner is making completely independent decisions.  Planning and some basic rules are needed to make streets work for everyone, to get enough density for a walkable neighborhood to be largely self-sufficient, or to combine available green space into communal areas that serve multiple needs (not just private lawns).

Less visible infrastructure also matters, often under the street: district-energy systems that reduce everyone’s energy cost and environmental footprint, separated stormwater and sewer pipes for water and energy recovery; or high-bandwidth internet “pipes” consistently available in every part of town.

How do economic variables like employment rates and cost of living affect the overall quality of life in different cities?

This question is actually slightly backwards. The built form of the city has a huge influence on access to jobs and on the cost of housing and transportation. A low-density urban area that is entirely dependent on cars and highways will be congested and disconnected.  People with cars will suffer from long commutes and the high cost of vehicle ownership; people without cars, because they can’t afford them or physically can’t drive them, will suffer from reduced employment opportunities and lack of community support. Plus separated dwellings are the most expensive kind of housing.

In other words, cities with dense, walkable, car-light and transit-rich neighborhoods (which already offer a high quality of life for their residents and workers) will also lead to lower costs of living and higher employment.

What role do educational opportunities and institutions play in determining the quality of life in a city?

The public schools are the foundation for any community’s ultimate success. Good quality schools with enough resources and with diverse students and educational offerings mean families will want to stay in a neighborhood for the long term, kids will get to form life-long bonds with the neighborhood and with each other, and employees and community members will have the skills to succeed and prosper and to participate in community institutions.

College campuses can also integrate successfully into the urban fabric and provide an economic and cultural engine for the broader community, as long as they’re not walled off islands that physically separate a neighborhood. In fact, some college campuses are idyllic models of good neighborhoods: everything you need is within easy walking distance, with lots of shared green space and community resources.

How do access to healthcare and public health services contribute to the quality of life in urban populations?

I’m not an expert on public health. But I am writing this in the midst of a nasty heat wave, deadlier than a major hurricane. So here’s an important health benefit that cities offer to everyone: people who live in cities have a small fraction of the carbon footprint of people who live in low-density suburbs and exurbs. As the climate crisis deepens, we’re going to see ever-worsening public health impacts. Well-designed cities can play a crucial role in creating a low-carbon future.

What are three key factors that contribute to a high quality of life in urban areas?

Equality of opportunity, equal access to services, and the ability to affect change. All residents should have the ability to succeed and thrive in an urban area, economically and otherwise.  Residents are entitled to receive services on an equal basis regardless of their demographic characteristics or where they live, and cities with high quality of life embrace this as a core duty. Finally, if residents feel that they have the capacity to bring about positive change in the direction of their city, they will perceive it as a healthy measure of their quality of life.

How do environmental factors, such as air quality and green spaces, influence the quality of life in a city?  

Environmental factors have direct implications for people’s health and the quality of life in a city.  For example, cities with high levels of lead in water, air, or paint adversely impact the health of their children, with reduced cognitive abilities, lack of impulse control, and severe health issues among the detrimental effects that have been documented in health research. Diminished air quality has also been found to lead to high levels of asthma and other pulmonary impairments. Cities that do not provide greenspaces for residents on an equal basis deprive them of the opportunity to enjoy natural settings that reduce stress, improve health, and absorb pollutants from urban life.

What are three ways urban planning and infrastructure impact residents’ quality of life?

Urban planning and infrastructure can not only impact the quality of life of residents but they can be oriented toward providing the highest quality of life for residents. First, urban planning should provide a sufficient and equitable amount of green space that meets the needs of residents for respite from the built environment while reducing air and water pollution. Second, cities should be built around public transportation options, rather than personal auto use, to increase safety, allow for walkable use of the cityscape, and reduce pollution. Third, new housing should be built near public transit to encourage residents to forego auto use within the city.

How do economic variables like employment rates and cost of living affect the overall quality of life in different cities?  

When cities have viable economies with the opportunity for entering the workforce and for advancement on an equitable basis, residents feel as if they are included in the life of the city in a way that persistently high levels of unemployment do not. Similarly, if the cost of living is affordable for the area, it allows for employment flexibility and opportunities for upward mobility.

What role do educational opportunities and institutions play in determining the quality of life in a city?  

Educational opportunities and institutions play a vital role in ensuring an educated workforce for a city. An educated citizenry can understand how to advocate for the quality of life they desire in the public and private sectors. A strong public education sector that leads to a variety of opportunities for higher education will contribute to a quality of life that is dynamic and vibrant for residents of an urban area.

How do access to healthcare and public health services contribute to the quality of life in urban populations?  

Healthcare and high-quality public health services are critical to how people experience their quality of life in urban areas. Health challenges are inevitable and the ability of facilities in an area to address them equitably removes a major stressor from the lives of citizens, one that significantly impacts upon quality of life. Urban areas where residents can access both basic and specialized care allow residents to deal with the consistent and ongoing maintenance of their health as well as any extraordinary events in a way that prioritizes their well-being and their participation in city life.