This study introduces a systematic and reproducible Neighbourhood Quality Index (NQI) based on quantifiable environmental attributes to provide a consistent system for evaluating neighbourhoods undergoing urban transformations and tests its feasibility across diverse contexts.
Four environmental attributes and 19 theoretically grounded and quantifiable measures are identified for pilot neighbourhoods in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and Sydney, Australia – cities implementing new planning policies in response to recent urban changes. These measures, calculated using published statistics, quantity calculations, and GIS-based syntactic and attraction analyses, are synthesised using a hybrid TOPSIS-EM multi-criteria method combined with structured expert weighing to derive the NQI.
By integrating systematic data across multiple spatial scales, the multi-domain NQI captured subtle neighbourhood characteristics, including disparities in service distribution, and enabled population-specific insights. The hybrid TOPSIS-EM approach demonstrated improved transparency and robustness compared to earlier methods, yielding consistent neighbourhood rankings.
The data-led NQI could inform policy decisions on allocating resources towards developing and retrofitting healthy, resilient, and sustainable neighbourhoods.
This study is a response to recent urban changes driven by climate change, hybrid working, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlight the need to enhance neighbourhood quality (NQ) for health and well-being. It addresses gaps in existing NQ indices by developing an integrated, data-driven assessment to support urban resilience and liveability in practice and policy.
