LEVEL OF LIVING AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN CRACOW URBAN REGION
Andrzej ZBOROWSKI
Abstrakt
This analysis of the level of living and the ąuality of life indicates consider- able social and spatial polarization processes in Cracow urban region. It is important to add that in the transformation period there was an increase in diversification of the level of living and the ąuality of life between respective districts. This increase had a significant influence on the growing poverty disparity.
Generally, one can distinguish between two zones of Iow level of living i.e. the central part (especially city centre II) and the peripheries (rural urban fringe and commuting zonę). A high level of living was characteristic of large housing estate zones, especially of new suburban housing estates. The spatial structure of the level of living referred to the diversity of ąuality of life only partially. There was no significant coincidence between two categories in the centre of Nowa Huta district and the old suburbs. It was common for both zones, however, that the level of living was rated higher than assessment of ąuality of life. The high level of living was contrasted by a declared feeling of deprivation common for residents of these zones, which indicated a Iow ąuality of life. In the city centre, as well as in its peripheries, the research showed a reverse to the above-described relation between the level of living and the ąuality of life. Inhabitants of these zones rated the ąuality of life higher than the level of living. The positive discord was surely the result of attitudes to- wards life characteristic of residents of the city centre and the peripheries, whose financial situation was much worse than that of their neighbors from the city frame or old suburbs zones. In the latter case, people show fewer attitudes toward claim and they can enjoy their lives morę.
It is worth noticing that the level of living and the ąuality of life in the large housing estate zonę were rated relatively high. This rating is contrary to press relations, which were often undocumented, announcing a total collapse of this zonę.
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