57UNSC Side Event: Advancing Human Settlement Statistics through the Quality of Life Index

Описание: UNSC Side Event: Advancing Human Settlement Statistics through the Quality of Life Index
The #UNSC57 side event brought together global, regional, and city-level leaders to explore how the Quality of Life Index is reshaping the way cities measure progress, govern development, and improve lived experience.

Framed within the 57th sessions of the UN Statistical Commission, the discussion emphasized a shift from traditional, sector-based and GDP-focused metrics toward people-centred, outcome-oriented, and governance-relevant measurement systems.

Opening remarks highlighted that statistics are not neutral: what cities measure ultimately shapes what they prioritize and build. Speakers underscored that while economic growth remains important, it is no longer sufficient to explain how people experience daily life in cities. The Quality of Life Index was presented not simply as a new metric, but as a transformative framework that integrates objective and subjective data, aligns global standards with local realities, and supports actionable decision-making.

From UN-Habitat’s perspective, the Quality of Life Initiative represents the next evolution of human settlement statistics, moving from sectoral indicators to systems thinking, from outputs to outcomes, and from national averages to spatially precise, disaggregated data. This evolution enables cities and national statistical systems to better identify inequalities, target investments, and assess whether policies are genuinely improving people’s lives.

At the global level, strong alignment was demonstrated between the Quality of Life Index and the broader Beyond GDP and well-being measurement agenda. Speakers emphasized the importance of coherence across global statistical frameworks, including the System of National Accounts, environmental-economic accounting, and emerging well-being frameworks, to ensure consistency and usability for policymakers.

City-level interventions illustrated how the Index is applied in practice. Examples from Saudi Arabia, Manchester, and Agadir showed how the framework supports governance reform, cross-departmental coordination, and more transparent, evidence-based policy choices. Rather than ranking cities against one another, the Index enables cities to measure progress against their own priorities, contexts, and values.

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that the true value of the Quality of Life Index lies in its process: bringing stakeholders together, creating a shared language for decision-making, and embedding quality of life considerations into planning, budgeting, and public investment. The event concluded with a strong call for institutionalization, capacity building, and endorsement of the Quality of Life framework as a core component of global and local statistical governance.