Preliminary analysis of the spatial attributes affecting students’ quality of life at the University of Rijeka

Recent development of the University of Rijeka campus area affects the quality of life (QoL) of the entire city of Rijeka population, especially student population, which comprises 13% of the city’s total population. During Campus First Development Phase (2008-2011), four faculties found their place in the campus area with no student accommodation nearby. However, in the fall of 2016, during the Second Development Phase, which began in 2015, the first on-campus-accommodations will be provided to students. Technical and economic aspects are the core during investment planning and decision-making processes, while the user requirements are rarely taken into consideration from the actual end-user, resulting in superficial implementation in developing processes. The aim of this paper is to identify the most important indicators influencing the students' QoL in the city of Rijeka and to give an insight of student needs as an input for better investment planning and modelling of urban areas according to their needs. Using a web-based questionnaire as well as personal questioning, the data were collected, analyzed, and compared across four groups of variables (accommodation, faculty location, food and beverages, and out-of- curriculum activities). The conducted research gives a preliminary insight into the students' points of view, thus giving the decision-makers a necessary tool for making more student- oriented decisions in the future campus development phases as a long-term developing processes in the urban area management.