from signals to patterns
the state of quality of life in Europe, on one page
- What it is
- Everything Business Hippie Club reads about quality of life, in one place. The public figures, our monthly Atlas, the City Signals from our fieldwork, and the Compass, where people answer for themselves. Updated every month, open and free to read whenever you like.
- What it shows
- Where life as it’s counted and life as it’s felt part ways. It starts with Europe and comes down to one city, the people in it, and you.
- Who it’s for
- Anyone who shapes how other people live and work, in a company, a city, a foundation, or in research and policy. And anyone who wants to see where their own life fits.
is life getting better, or does it only look that way?
The short answer, pillar by pillar. What gets counted, what gets felt, and whether the distance between them is closing.
Each of these rests on two figures. Here they are.
what do the numbers say?
Each pillar has two figures: what gets counted, and how people feel about it. Where they part ways is where the Atlas looks.
Those eight come back every month. The editions bring others. Some fade, some keep returning.
what does the Atlas keep finding?
QOL Atlas, monthly editionsEach month the Atlas backs its reading of Europe with figures. Here they are, sorted by subject. The coloured squares show the months a subject came up. Open a subject to see its figures and where they come from.
Europe-wide figures show the pattern, not the place. To see where it lands, go to one city.
what does it look like on the ground?
QOL Tour fieldworkThe Atlas reads Europe from a distance. The City Signals read one place up close: weeks of walking, coffeetalks, and the public figures checked against both.
In a city we hear it in coffeetalks. The Compass asks people directly, and counts the answers.
and what do people say themselves?
Compass study · livePublic data stops at conditions. The Compass asks people what a good life looks like to them, then where theirs stands. Only totals are shown, so no one can be picked out.
Average score, 0 to 10, from the life lens. The longer the bar, the better people rate that part of their life.
Europe, a city, people: three ways of looking. The 17 Living Goals tie them together.
which parts of a good life are under pressure?
Atlas and City SignalsThe 17 Living Goals are our map of what a good life needs. Every Atlas edition and every City Signal is linked to the goals it touches. Below, the ones that come up most. Pick any goal to see every signal behind it, from Europe down to one city.
Every level so far is about someone else. The last one is you.
where do you, and your place, stand?
You’ve seen Europe, a city and the people in it. Now turn it round. The same Compass reads your own life, the people you work with, and the place you serve, and each shapes the others.
Every edition, in full, is in the Atlas archive. After that, the question is what it means for your place.
Recognise your own place in this?
Three ways in, for a company, a city or a foundation. A day with your team on what these patterns mean for you. A read of your own people with the Compass. A concept for your place, developed with you and ready for you to build. Prices are on the page, the same for everyone.