A University of Canberra urban planning academic has developed a measure that combines objective indicators, such as crime rate, and the reported satisfaction of the residents.

Hitomi Nakanishi then applied the tool to the city's suburbs to provide a snapshot of what it is like to live in the ACT.

South Canberra showed the best overall quality of life, Belconnen and Tuggeranong the worst, although the difference between each region was quite small.

Weston Creek came in second, Woden third, followed by Gungahlin and North Canberra.

Dr Nakanishi said her formula for determining quality of life differed from others because it incorporated the values of residents.

''Conventionally we used to use GDP as an economic indicator, but GDP doesn't say anything about our quality of life. For example, even if our income level gets higher it doesn't mean that we are happy,'' she said.

''This could be used as a complementary other thing that adds to the existing evaluation system, which is lacking the residents' perspective.''

In a survey of more than 600 people in the ACT, South Canberra residents recorded the highest level of satisfaction in their safety and security, and in quality environment and sustainability indicators. Other indicators used to determine an overall quality of life score included the proportion of young people in full-time employment or education, the amount of new affordable housing, air quality, job availability and access to a broadband network.

Dr Nakanishi will present her research at the 13th International Conference on Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management, to be held in Utrecht in the Netherlands in July.

She said her research suggested just a small change to significant indicators could have a big impact on enhancing the quality of life.

For example, indicators of community wellbeing were important to the people of Belconnen, so a small change to some of those could make a big difference in how they feel about their area.

It could be used as a starting point for planning authorities to consult with the community, she said. ''Canberra's centenary is, I think, a good opportunity to really think about how we are going and where we are going,'' she said.

Dr Nakanishi's research on Canberra began by running focus groups with residents to find out which factors were important to their quality of life. They were then used to formulate the survey.

Survey respondents also rated which indicators were most important to them, which differed across suburbs, age groups and the genders, and more weight was given to indicators they deemed important.