20/06/2007 00:00
TW
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by Staff Reporter

PALMA
WHILE Majorcans speak well of their health service and jobs market, they're apparently not so enthusiastic about the quality of housing which is available to them here on the Island.

A study released yesterday by the long-established Gadeso Foundation firmly encouraged high-profile participation by people living on Majorca when it comes to “design and management” of services and resources. Their fundamental challenge, claims the study, is to “rethink” economic strategy in the Balearics in order to improve the quality of life for everyone living in the region.

At a deeper level, the Foundation's research explores “citizens' concerns” within a sociological framework, drawing up a scale of “quality of life” based on everyday expectations of political and economic development.

As its methodology, the study used a factor of 1 to 7 to measure valuation and opinion emerging from interviews with the public. Subjects related to satisfaction, or lack of it, on health care, the work place, and perceived governmental strategy for the future of the Islands. Results in this sector ranged from 5.5 upwards, but at the other end of the scale, public satisfaction with housing rated very poorly.

It averaged around little better than a single point, with safety and natural heritage in the Islands scoring nothing more than an average 3 points.
Conclusions emerging from the Gadeso study on how people living on Marjorca perceive their quality of life showed that citizens have sharp views on factors that most affect their living standards. The Foundation gave a warning in its findings that the future on Majorca may witness a “loss of social cohesion” due to “lack of collective action”, “the feeling of being insecure” and “the absence of a sense of belonging”.

The interviews used for this research were conducted amongst 400 people who represented a wide-ranging cross section of society from different geographic areas of the Island. They took account of class, professional and economic status, allowing for an error margin of 5 percent.