The main aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of quality of life in population growth in a local framework. To achieve that objective we use a theoretical model that considers the basic variables that explain urban growth; we detail what do we understand when we talk about quality of life, and how do we measure the concept; and we also focus on a case study, the municipalities of the province of Barcelona within the 1991-2000 period. Finally we estimate the empirical model using instrumental variables and also considering the existence of heterokedasticity and spatial autocorrelation for the municipalities in the Barcelona province. In the paper, besides estimating the role of different factors in urban growth, we pose an additional question: what is the better way to include in the model the concept of quality of life?