Rapoport Irina

The article is devoted to the development of new approaches in the field of urban planning and the definition of criteria of a comfortable living environment, taking into account regional characteristics and opinions of various population groups. An analysis of the main methods of assessing the quality of life that are applied in different regions for various applications is made, as well as the proposals on use of research results in the field of urban planning. The groups of methods mainly used in the field of urban planning: analysis of statistical data (standard and reflective urban aspects of quality of life); case studies, based on surveys of various groups of the population; integrated assessments, including a variety of ratings which take into account the results of sociological research, and objective statistics are examined. Recommendations are given for the use of subjective and objective assessments of the quality of life in the preparation of plans of urban development and regional planning documents.