ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

 

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

In the survey of existing concepts in the field of “environmental quality” based on the origin of this issue, it is necessary to study related concepts to this issue, because most of these concepts are in relation with other concepts as “quality of life”. Concepts as livability, living quality, living environment, quality of place, residential-perception and- satisfaction, the evaluation of the residential and living environment, quality of life and sustainability do overlap, and are often used as synonyms but every so often are contrasted. The different concepts find their origin in the various research and policymaking traditions of health, safety, well-being, residential satisfaction and urban physical environment (van Kamp, 2003: 5).

 

Environmental quality is the specification and feature of the environment which affects human and other organisms in general and the local. Environmental quality is assessment of environment in connection with one or more aspects requirements or for any human need or desire (Johnson et al, 1997). Environmental quality can define as a larger concept of “quality of life”; combining of basis qualities as health, safety with aspects of welfare and grace (Aminsalehi, 2008). Quality of environment is resulted of components of a specific sector. But nonetheless it implicates on general notion more than sum of the components. Each component (nature, open space, infrastructures, build environment, facilities of physical environment and natural reserves)has its especial characteristics and quality. 

 

Based on the Vanpoll’s definition, environmental quality is a subjective value concept. This value is defined by value of “residential environmental quality” which is contained essential characteristics as individual satisfaction of house, neighborhoods and neighbors. Thus, total subjective value of residential environmental quality equal sum assessments of characteristics and components of environment (Van poll, 1997). A good quality environment gives sense of welfare and satisfaction to inhabitants by physical, social or symbolic characteristics (Marans and Couper, 2000). Such an environment is comprising a good quality life and protecting economical, social and cultural activities. So that today improving of environmental quality is become one of the essential objectives of urban policy and planning.

 

According to use the concept of environmental quality in different disciplines such as architecture, urban design and planning, environmental science, environmental psychology, etc, definitions of this concept contains the especial view of each expressed disciplines. In this paper because of using the concept of environmental quality in the field of urban planning in a local area and regarding to interaction of environment and its inhabitants, the regarded definition of this concept contains both subjective characteristics of inhabitants’ perception and objective characteristics existing in the local areas. 

One of the important issues in the residential environmental quality studies is to regard to the interaction and perception of the person to the surrounded environment. How perception of an environment by its inhabitants in a neighborhood affect the relation of them with the environment and the level of their satisfaction. In the Gabriel’s studies in 2009, to quality of life and sustainability were regarded of the frame of some authors extend the previous conceptualizations of person–environment congruity from individual to community settings, focusing on neighborhoods (Kahana, Lovegreen, Kahana, & Kahana, 2003). The authors consider the applicability of the congruence concept for perception the quality of life of neighborhoods. They argue that the characteristics of the person, those of the environment itself, and those of the person–environment fit (in their terminology) are important factors determining residential satisfaction. In the authors’ view, people–environment fit focuses on four physical and two social aspects of neighborhood environments, viz. physical amenities and resources, aesthetics, safety, stimulation vs peacefulness, homogeneity vs. heterogeneity of the population, and interaction vs withdrawal. The preferences concerning the latter three bi-polar aspects may vary according to individual and/or collective preferences of the inhabitants of a specific neighborhood. In this latter conceptualization, however, environmental quality (noise, pollution, etc.) is missing (Moser, 2009: 354). 

One of the main issues on relations of person and its surrounded environment is the satisfaction of the environment. In past decades, the satisfaction was used in the field of assessment of the environmental quality. Since the urban residential environmental quality is addressed as a hierarchical and multiple concepts and environmental quality is described by essential characteristics, satisfaction also is considered as a concept with multiple specifications (Van poll, 1997). In a farther study in 1969, satisfaction is considered as one of the main indicators of residential environmental assessment and so it was defined: “high quality environment transfer welfare and satisfaction feeling to its population which can be physical, social and or symbolic” (Marans and Couper, 2000: 195-199). Thus, from different researchers’ viewpoint, satisfaction is defined as a general indicator to assessment perception of environmental quality.