ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to review the range of studies which have used economic and social indicators for measuring spatial variations in quality of life. This provides the platform for developing a more systematic and comprehensive framework for the conceptual identification and calculation of performance indicators for use in a variety of situations in urban planning and policy analysis. In Sections 2.2 and 2.3 we chart progress and problems associated with the so-called 'social indicator movement' from its basic origins in the 1960s to the present day. Examples are drawn from the United States and Britain in particular. The recent state concerns with performance indicatorsper se is reviewed in Section 2.4, and this is followed by a discussion of a number of important issues that a performance indicator focus raises (Section 2.5).
