THE CONTRIBUTION OF URBAN GREEN AREAS TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE Quintas, Andreia V. (1) and Curado, Maria José (2) (1) Phd Student, CIBIO (Research Center In Biodiversity and Genetic Resources), University of Porto, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Edif Botânica – Lab.AP, R Campo Alegre, 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal, andreia.quintas@fc.up.pt (2) Professor, CIBIO (Research Center In Biodiversity and Genetic Resources), University of Porto, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Edif Botânica – Lab.AP, R Campo Alegre, 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal, mcurado@fc.up.pt Abstract The promotion of the quality of life in urban areas is one of the challenges that are imposed in the cities, particularly after the enormous development that these areas have been suffering in the last decades. The urban green areas, due to the functions and the role they play in cities, are fundamental elements, inductors of quality of life. When they get organized in systems like the Urban Green Structure, this value is potentiated and incremented, contributing more efficiently to the quality of life. This article, integrated in a PhD work, aims to propose a method to evaluate the contribution of the urban green areas to the quality of life and urban sustainability, namely those which are integrated in the Urban Green Structure. The results will help to define strategies to enhance the importance of the Urban Green Structure within the urban network, in an integrated and complementary way. Keywords Urban Areas; Green areas; Urban Green Structure; Quality of life; Quality of life indicators. 1. Introduction In the most recent decades, urban areas have been increasing its area and population, being expected, in Europe, that about a fifth of the population dwells in cities. People migrate to the cities in search of a vast number of opportunities, which, in rural areas, are not so accessible. Cities become centers of concentration of infrastructures, recreation, culture and markets, among other elements. However, this increase in urban areas and the growth of his population, with a reduction of the number of inhabitants in the most interior