Landsat TM data were used in conjunction with census data for urban quality of life assessment, using the Athens-Clarke County, Georgia in the United States as an example. The satellite image data were used to extract environmental variables of land cover, vegetation index, and surface temperature, while socioeconomic variables were obtained from the census data. Using the social space conceptualization put forth by Chombart de Lauwe, quality of life as a collective attribute that adheres to groups of people was assessed with reference to the morphological and sociocultural environment. A principal components analysis and a raster geographic information system overlay of variables were found to be useful approaches that effectively integrated biophysical and socioeconomic data together to give an accurate assessment of quality of life within the study area. It is concluded that high resolution satellite image data are a useful complement to census data by giving the environmental perspective in urban analysis.