Development of a GIS-Based Socio-Spatial Quality Index for Assessing Urban Resettlement Outcomes: A Case Study of Quezon City

Abstract. Urban relocation programs in Metro Manila have aimed to improve the living conditions of Informal Settlement Families (ISFs), yet many resettled communities continue to return to the city, which reveals persistent misalignments between relocation outcomes and actual needs. While previous studies have assessed socioeconomic aspects of resettlement, the spatial dimension of quality of life remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by developing a GIS-based Socio-Spatial Quality (SSQ) index that integrates 26 indicators across socio-economic, geographic, and safety indicators using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with inputs from both government housing authorities (National Housing Authority) and resettled communities across 10 relocation sites. The index developed was validated through ground-truth comparisons, with accuracy above 90%, confirming its high reliability. Results show that relocation sites have significantly lower SSQ scores (mean = ~0.41) than original settlements (mean = ~0.48), with a mean percent decrease of SSQ of -14.51, confirmed by computed local spatial Gini coefficients. Findings reveal that relocation to distant, off-city areas results in generally lower SSQ, with a moderate negative correlation between relocation distance and SSQ change (r = ~ –0.66), and significant differences arising from the varying prioritization of indicators between the two perspectives. Both institutional and resident perspectives consistently reflect these inequalities, though notable perception gaps remain in how each group views quality of life and relocation outcomes. The SSQ Index provides a replicable, participatory tool for evaluating urban resettlement and supports spatially just, evidence-informed planning interventions.