Urban Development and Quality of Life in the City: Contextualised through Lefebvre's Representational Spaces

Author : Menna Jones, Rami Shamseen

Abstract :This paper explores how residents perceive their quality of life in relation to their narrative about urban development. Based on interviews carried out in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, this study is analysed using Lefebvre’s (1991) representational spaces: focusing on residents’ lived experience. The paper outlines Sheffield as a case study, defines quality of life using the EU’s indicators, and explains how emotional responses to urban development were analysed in relation to perceived quality of life. Our findings highlight how residents interpret their quality of life through the spatial practices and of the emotional meaning they attach to space. Residents described emotions such as pride and delight, feelings such as anticipation and exasperation, the sentiment of caring and togetherness. Each was linked to the built environment and their sense of quality of life. These insights offer urban stakeholders a clearer understanding of how development shapes residents’ perceptions both positively (or negatively) of their quality of life

Keywords :Quality of Life, Urban Development, Lefebvre’s Representational Space, Qualitative research, Urban regeneration, Public Spaces, Place attachment

Conference Name :International Conference on Geography, Urban and Environmental Studies (ICGUES-25)

Conference Place Lisbon, Portugal

Conference Date 24th Jul 2025