Evaluation of the quality of urban life in horizontal condominiums in the city of João Pessoa, PB

Abstract The aim of this article is to analyse the quality of urban life in horizontal condominiums located in the city of João Pessoa, PB. This housing modality has proliferated and considerably changed the local real estate market, using the premise that the "quality of life" inside the condominiums is supposedly higher than the urban standard found in the city outside its walls. However, there is no local research that measures this so-called "quality of life" by using specific and scientific methods. Therefore, based on the "Quality of Urban Life Index in the city of João Pessoa" (QULI-JP) method, this study aims at filling this gap, by investigating the quality of life in the condominiums, paying special attention to their surroundings and relationship with the urban fabric. The main results in this research show how important the location is to determine the quality of urban life, as the location attributes translate the facilities and deficiencies of opportunities and urban access. The investigation also demonstrates that the quality of urban life measured does not match what is advertised by the media and the local real estate market, which places high value to areas considered distant, with low urban density which are physically and socially isolated.