Toward Sustainable Human Well-Being: A Multidimensional Assessment in Colorado

Author

• Uma Umut Baysal, University of DenverFollow

Date of Award

Spring 6-13-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Geography

Organizational Unit

College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Geography and the Environment

First Advisor

Paul C. Sutton

Second Advisor

Yavuz Yasar

Third Advisor

Helen Hazen

Fourth Advisor

Jing Li

Fifth Advisor

Hava R. Gordon

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Built environment, Ecological footprint, Human wellbeing, Social development, Sustainability, Sustainable development

Abstract

Evaluating progress in human well-being is essential for guiding effective policy and promoting sustainable development. Traditional approaches often emphasize economic and social dimensions while overlooking ecological indicators critical to long-term sustainability. This research addresses that gap by proposing a layered, scalable local framework for county-level analysis and bottom-up decision-making, integrating multiple objective indicators to assess and compare well-being outcomes across regions.

The first goal of this dissertation is to measure human well-being in Colorado counties by developing a Human Well-Being Index (HWBI). This index combines a newly developed Built Environment Index (BEI) comprising five sub-indices: accessibility, housing affordability, transportation, safety, and social place, with a modified version of the United Nations Human Development Index (MHDI), enhanced by incorporating income inequality. This multidimensional structure reflects how built and socio-economic environments shape human lives at the local scale. All measures are relative, allowing comparison among counties to identify disparities and rank outcomes.

The second goal is to assess whether these well-being levels are ecologically sustainable for future generations. To achieve this, the study introduces a Sustainable Well- Being Index (SWBI), integrating ecological footprint data to evaluate ecological performance in achieving well-being. Additionally, the study calculates each county’s biocapacity, ecological surplus, and deficit to assess absolute sustainability. This dual approach enables the categorization of counties based on trade-offs among natural resource availability (biocapacities), and resource use efficiency in producing human well-being. Findings reveal important spatial patterns, including an urban-rural divide, and highlight both high and low-performing counties, identifying problem areas for targeted, county-based interventions.

This research provides a relative, comparative tool for policymakers, planners, and local administrations to monitor, benchmark, and improve well-being in alignment with ecological limits. The findings also underscore the importance of regional planning, to determine which cities should grow to build infrastructure that supports higher well-being and which areas may need to shrink or consolidate for improved ecological efficiency. Ultimately, this study contributes a locally grounded, scalable, and sustainability-oriented framework that bridges the gap between policy, planning, and long-term human wellbeing.

Copyright Date

6-2025

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Uma Umut Baysal

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

288 pgs

File Size

11.7 MB

Supplementary File Description

Biocapacity Data
File Format: application/vnd.ms-excel
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 8 tabs
File Size: 196 KB

Built Environment Index Data
File Format: application/vnd.ms-excel
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 19 tabs
File Size: 254 KB

Education Index Data
File Format: application/vnd.ms-excel
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 6 tabs
File Size: 119 KB

Subindicies Data
File Format: application/vnd.ms-excel
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 3 tabs
File Size: 46.8 KB

Sustainable Well Being Index Data
File Format: application/vnd.ms-excel
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 11 tabs
File Size: 201 KB

UN Human Development Index Data
File Format: application/vnd.ms-excel
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 7 tabs
File Size: 63.7 KB

Recommended Citation

Baysal, Uma Umut, "Toward Sustainable Human Well-Being: A Multidimensional Assessment in Colorado" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2580.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2580

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.56902/ETDCRP.2025.108