An investigation into the variations in quality
of life between Acton and Keswick
By Jude Abbasi
,Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Location Context ................................................................................................................................ 6
Hypotheses ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Methodology and Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 9
Data Presentation and Analysis ........................................................................................................... 25
Question 1: Does the quality of the natural and living environment differ between Acton and
Keswick and how? ............................................................................................................................ 25
Question 2: To what extent do residents’ perception of the threat of crime and sense of physical
safety differ between Keswick and Acton ........................................................................................ 33
Question 3: How does the availability of goods, services and transport differ between Acton and
Keswick? ........................................................................................................................................... 39
Question 4: How do the material living conditions differ between Acton and Keswick?................ 41
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 43
Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................. 45
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 47
2
,Introduction
The objective of this study is to investigate and compare, using both primary and secondary data materials
and research, the differences in quality of life between Acton, an urban area within West London, and
Keswick, a small market town located in the Lake District in Cumbria.
Quality of life is a broad concept and can be considered from a variety of angles. It is defined by the
European Commission as ‘a broad concept that encompasses a number of different dimensions…It
encompasses both objective factors (e.g. command of material resources, health, work status, living
conditions and many others) and the subjective perception one has of themi. The Encyclopaedia Britannica
defines quality of life as ‘the degree to which an individual is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in
or enjoy life events. The term quality of life is inherently ambiguous, as it can refer both to the experience an
individual has of his or her own life and to the living conditions in which individuals find themselves’.ii
Given the broad nature of the term 'quality of life', and the requirement to include primary research and
data in this investigation, I researched various models and frameworks for considering quality of life
indicators. These included the ‘National Well Being Indicators’ used by the UK Office of National Statisticsiii
and the 2012 WHO Quality of Life Assessment tooliv. However, taking into account that the objective of this
investigation is to assess quality of life specifically at a community/area level, I chose to draw on a model
developed by the European Commission as providing the most relevant categories for framing my research.
In total this model v takes into account 8 different dimensions of quality of life, namely, Material Living
Conditions, Leisure, Social Interactions, Economic security and physical safety, Natural and living
environment and Overall Experience of Life, and in this investigation I have focused on a sub-set of these to
provide a framework for this investigation:
• The Natural Living Environment
• Physical Safety; and
• Material living conditions
3
,In addition I have added in an assessment of ‘Access to goods, services and transport’ in my comparison
study. A June 2022 report by the National Infrastructure Commission on Quality of Lifevi lists ‘Connections’,
(defined as ‘The physical connections (transport networks) and digital connections….. that link people,
communities and businesses’) as one of the core indicators of quality of life. The document notes that ‘The
role of digital and transport infrastructure is to connect people and businesses across the UK, providing
access to key services, amenities and social networks, all of which are important to quality of life’ and that
infrastructure ‘acts as an enabler for patterns of economic activity and therefore access to employment’ with
employment status being ‘a strong predictor of life satisfaction’. I therefore deemed it important to my
investigation to include a section on access to goods (e.g. shops) services (e.g. health and leisure) and
transport.
Each of these 4 domains are further described below:
Definitions of the Quality-of-Life dimensions as applied in this investigation:
1. The natural and living environment
This covers aspects of the local environment such as pollution, access to green and recreational spaces and
the quality of the landscape and built environment. The impact of the local environment on well being and
quality of life is well recognised. For example the gov.uk website on ‘Determinants of Heath’ states, ‘Features
such as neighbourhood design, housing, the food environment, transport, and natural and sustainable
environments are all recognised as determinants of health’.vii Access to green spaces is an important aspect
of the living environment as it promotes healthy behaviours such as physical activity, recreation, and social
interaction. Air pollution is now recognised as having a significant impact on human and environmental
health, as exemplified by this quote from a gov.uk report on ‘Current and Emerging health issues’ which
states ‘It is estimated that long-term exposure to the air pollution mixture in the UK has an annual effect
equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths’.viii I have therefore selected the natural and living environment
dimension as one of the core components of my investigation.
4
,2. Physical safety
Actual and perceived physical safety is listed as a component of across a range of quality of life frameworks.
“Physical safety refers to being protected from any situation that puts an individual’s physical security at risk −
this may include crime and violence. Often a perceived lack of physical safety may affect subjective well-being
more than the effect of any real threat. For example, homicide causes only a small fraction of the total number
of deaths in the EU each year, however, its influence on people’s emotional lives can be considerable.
Consequently, some crimes that have the potential to affect a person’s physical safety are often socially
magnified, with an increase in feelings of insecurity or anxiousness’.
European Commission report of Quality-of-Life Dimensions – Eurostat (see reference on page 3)
In the UK the most significant fear related to physical safety is generally related to levels and perceptions of
crime and therefore this report focuses on crime when comparing the physical safety dimension between
Acton and Keswick.
3. Access to goods, services and transport
For purposes of this investigation I have defined this category as consisting of access to goods, services, and
transport links.
4. Material living conditions
For this dimension define material living conditions as relative levels of economic and social deprivation
versus affluence. Lower income levels and/or less secure income typically mean reduced access to secure
and high quality housing, and are correlated with poorer health outcomes and indeed reduced longevity. For
example, a 2018 report in the Lancet states ‘Evidence suggests that prevalence of childhood obesity is
strongly correlated with socioeconomic status and is highest among children living in the most deprived
areas. A child living in the most deprived 10% of areas in England today is more than twice as likely to be
obese than a child living in the least deprived 10% of areas in England.ix Even more startlingly the Longevity
Science Panel calculated that in 2015, men aged 60 to 89 from the least affluent fifth of the country were
80% more likely to die within a year than the most affluent fifth. The equivalent figures for women was 81%.x
The 2018 ‘Health on the High Street’ report produced by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) xi found a
correlation between high streets that have higher numbers of outlets with unhealthy versus healthy
outcomes (e.g. vape shops, bookmakers, fast food shops) are correlated with levels of social deprivation. I
therefore selected Material Living Conditions as one of the four components of quality of live analysed for
purposes of this report.
5
, This investigation has the aim of answering the following research questions:
1. Does the general quality of the natural and living environment differ between Acton and Keswick and
how?
2. To what extent do residents’ perception of the threat of crime and sense of physical safety differ
between Keswick and Acton?
3. How does the availability of access to goods, services and transport differ between Acton and Keswick
4. How do the material living conditions differ between Acton and Keswick?
Location Context
Keswick
Keswick is a small market town located within the Lake District National Park, Cumbria. The population is
estimated at 4,446 as of the 2021 census, with 30.6% of the population being over the age of 65.xii
Mining, particularly of graphite, was important to Keswick’s economy from the 16th century onwards. However,
during the 20th Century there was a shift from mining to tourism. The Lake District National Park website states
that the tourist industry constitutes the main source of income xiii and over 20,000 tourists visit the town every
year, according to the ‘Visit Cumbria’ website xiv. Visitors are attracted by the natural beauty of the area and
take advantage of the location to use the town as a base for sightseeing, hiking and for touring the wider Lake
District. seeking the unique mountainous landscape. The town centre offers a range of independent shops,
pubs and outdoor retail outlets and there are many hotels and guest houses offering accommodation.
Map of Keswick on a regional Map of Keswick on a local scale
scale
Map of Keswick on a national scale
6
of life between Acton and Keswick
By Jude Abbasi
,Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Location Context ................................................................................................................................ 6
Hypotheses ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Methodology and Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 9
Data Presentation and Analysis ........................................................................................................... 25
Question 1: Does the quality of the natural and living environment differ between Acton and
Keswick and how? ............................................................................................................................ 25
Question 2: To what extent do residents’ perception of the threat of crime and sense of physical
safety differ between Keswick and Acton ........................................................................................ 33
Question 3: How does the availability of goods, services and transport differ between Acton and
Keswick? ........................................................................................................................................... 39
Question 4: How do the material living conditions differ between Acton and Keswick?................ 41
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 43
Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................. 45
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 47
2
,Introduction
The objective of this study is to investigate and compare, using both primary and secondary data materials
and research, the differences in quality of life between Acton, an urban area within West London, and
Keswick, a small market town located in the Lake District in Cumbria.
Quality of life is a broad concept and can be considered from a variety of angles. It is defined by the
European Commission as ‘a broad concept that encompasses a number of different dimensions…It
encompasses both objective factors (e.g. command of material resources, health, work status, living
conditions and many others) and the subjective perception one has of themi. The Encyclopaedia Britannica
defines quality of life as ‘the degree to which an individual is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in
or enjoy life events. The term quality of life is inherently ambiguous, as it can refer both to the experience an
individual has of his or her own life and to the living conditions in which individuals find themselves’.ii
Given the broad nature of the term 'quality of life', and the requirement to include primary research and
data in this investigation, I researched various models and frameworks for considering quality of life
indicators. These included the ‘National Well Being Indicators’ used by the UK Office of National Statisticsiii
and the 2012 WHO Quality of Life Assessment tooliv. However, taking into account that the objective of this
investigation is to assess quality of life specifically at a community/area level, I chose to draw on a model
developed by the European Commission as providing the most relevant categories for framing my research.
In total this model v takes into account 8 different dimensions of quality of life, namely, Material Living
Conditions, Leisure, Social Interactions, Economic security and physical safety, Natural and living
environment and Overall Experience of Life, and in this investigation I have focused on a sub-set of these to
provide a framework for this investigation:
• The Natural Living Environment
• Physical Safety; and
• Material living conditions
3
,In addition I have added in an assessment of ‘Access to goods, services and transport’ in my comparison
study. A June 2022 report by the National Infrastructure Commission on Quality of Lifevi lists ‘Connections’,
(defined as ‘The physical connections (transport networks) and digital connections….. that link people,
communities and businesses’) as one of the core indicators of quality of life. The document notes that ‘The
role of digital and transport infrastructure is to connect people and businesses across the UK, providing
access to key services, amenities and social networks, all of which are important to quality of life’ and that
infrastructure ‘acts as an enabler for patterns of economic activity and therefore access to employment’ with
employment status being ‘a strong predictor of life satisfaction’. I therefore deemed it important to my
investigation to include a section on access to goods (e.g. shops) services (e.g. health and leisure) and
transport.
Each of these 4 domains are further described below:
Definitions of the Quality-of-Life dimensions as applied in this investigation:
1. The natural and living environment
This covers aspects of the local environment such as pollution, access to green and recreational spaces and
the quality of the landscape and built environment. The impact of the local environment on well being and
quality of life is well recognised. For example the gov.uk website on ‘Determinants of Heath’ states, ‘Features
such as neighbourhood design, housing, the food environment, transport, and natural and sustainable
environments are all recognised as determinants of health’.vii Access to green spaces is an important aspect
of the living environment as it promotes healthy behaviours such as physical activity, recreation, and social
interaction. Air pollution is now recognised as having a significant impact on human and environmental
health, as exemplified by this quote from a gov.uk report on ‘Current and Emerging health issues’ which
states ‘It is estimated that long-term exposure to the air pollution mixture in the UK has an annual effect
equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths’.viii I have therefore selected the natural and living environment
dimension as one of the core components of my investigation.
4
,2. Physical safety
Actual and perceived physical safety is listed as a component of across a range of quality of life frameworks.
“Physical safety refers to being protected from any situation that puts an individual’s physical security at risk −
this may include crime and violence. Often a perceived lack of physical safety may affect subjective well-being
more than the effect of any real threat. For example, homicide causes only a small fraction of the total number
of deaths in the EU each year, however, its influence on people’s emotional lives can be considerable.
Consequently, some crimes that have the potential to affect a person’s physical safety are often socially
magnified, with an increase in feelings of insecurity or anxiousness’.
European Commission report of Quality-of-Life Dimensions – Eurostat (see reference on page 3)
In the UK the most significant fear related to physical safety is generally related to levels and perceptions of
crime and therefore this report focuses on crime when comparing the physical safety dimension between
Acton and Keswick.
3. Access to goods, services and transport
For purposes of this investigation I have defined this category as consisting of access to goods, services, and
transport links.
4. Material living conditions
For this dimension define material living conditions as relative levels of economic and social deprivation
versus affluence. Lower income levels and/or less secure income typically mean reduced access to secure
and high quality housing, and are correlated with poorer health outcomes and indeed reduced longevity. For
example, a 2018 report in the Lancet states ‘Evidence suggests that prevalence of childhood obesity is
strongly correlated with socioeconomic status and is highest among children living in the most deprived
areas. A child living in the most deprived 10% of areas in England today is more than twice as likely to be
obese than a child living in the least deprived 10% of areas in England.ix Even more startlingly the Longevity
Science Panel calculated that in 2015, men aged 60 to 89 from the least affluent fifth of the country were
80% more likely to die within a year than the most affluent fifth. The equivalent figures for women was 81%.x
The 2018 ‘Health on the High Street’ report produced by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) xi found a
correlation between high streets that have higher numbers of outlets with unhealthy versus healthy
outcomes (e.g. vape shops, bookmakers, fast food shops) are correlated with levels of social deprivation. I
therefore selected Material Living Conditions as one of the four components of quality of live analysed for
purposes of this report.
5
, This investigation has the aim of answering the following research questions:
1. Does the general quality of the natural and living environment differ between Acton and Keswick and
how?
2. To what extent do residents’ perception of the threat of crime and sense of physical safety differ
between Keswick and Acton?
3. How does the availability of access to goods, services and transport differ between Acton and Keswick
4. How do the material living conditions differ between Acton and Keswick?
Location Context
Keswick
Keswick is a small market town located within the Lake District National Park, Cumbria. The population is
estimated at 4,446 as of the 2021 census, with 30.6% of the population being over the age of 65.xii
Mining, particularly of graphite, was important to Keswick’s economy from the 16th century onwards. However,
during the 20th Century there was a shift from mining to tourism. The Lake District National Park website states
that the tourist industry constitutes the main source of income xiii and over 20,000 tourists visit the town every
year, according to the ‘Visit Cumbria’ website xiv. Visitors are attracted by the natural beauty of the area and
take advantage of the location to use the town as a base for sightseeing, hiking and for touring the wider Lake
District. seeking the unique mountainous landscape. The town centre offers a range of independent shops,
pubs and outdoor retail outlets and there are many hotels and guest houses offering accommodation.
Map of Keswick on a regional Map of Keswick on a local scale
scale
Map of Keswick on a national scale
6
