A Q methodology approach to define urban sustainability challenges in a small insular city : 51st European Congress of the Regional Association International|Barcelona, August 30 to September 3, 2011

The objective of this paper is to define what problems the city of Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira Island, Azores) faces in what regards urban sustainability, so as to improve the quality of life of the residents and to ensure the adequate growth and progress of the city in all areas, as possible. The main themes approached in this work were urbanism, the city's current development level, public security, environment, culture and education, economy, funding, governance, migration, public participation and poverty. Selected stakeholders ranked statements pertaining each of these themes, from which we extracted three distinct social perspectives, one concerned with employment and the recovery of the city, another that praises the quality of human resources and a third that trusts the quality of the social infrastructure. All perspectives seem to agree that there are no public security problems in Angra, and that rebuilding is a more sustainable option. They also believe that there is adequate support for migrants, good dialogue between public bodies and social organizations, and that the population is willing to play a greater role in the city's governance. Key-words: urban sustainability, q methodology, stakeholder perspectives