Assessment of the Urban Environment Quality in Large Cities of Kazakhstan: Socio-Ecological Aspects

Aim. Development of the urban environment quality index and its calculation for cities of Kazakhstan with a population of more than 250 thousand people. Methodology. Study of the conceptual framework on urban environment and its quality, search and analysis of scientific articles and books, as well as existing methods for calculating urban environment quality and quality of life indices. Development of an index, collection and design of a database for major cities in Kazakhstan. A database was compiled based on 18 indicators divided into 4 blocks: environmental friendliness, safety, comfort and accessibility, housing conditions and improvement. Based on the data obtained, a general rating of urban environment quality was compiled, the results were verified, and suggestions were made to improve the quality of urban environment. Results. The urban environment quality index has been developed and calculated for 14 major cities in Kazakhstan. Based on the results obtained, a ranking of cities was compiled based on the quality of the urban environment, with recommendations for improving its quality. Research implications. The paper considers concepts and terms, examines existing methods and indexes related to the quality of the urban environment. A content analysis of publications on the quality of the urban environment has been carried out. A system of indicators and a methodology for assessing the quality of the urban environment have been developed. The calculation of the indicators is based on the processing and interpretation of the data obtained on the quality of the urban environment. Based on the results of the assessment, the main problems in cities affecting the quality of the urban environment have been identified and proposals have been developed to minimize them with recommendations for the application of successful practices.