Analysis of ISO 37120 indicators for small municipalities in Brazil: a case study in Piumhi

Abstract

Brazil does not have a city which has reported to the International Standard ISO 37120 (Sustainable cities and communities - indicators for city services and quality of life) neither has available results on the World Council on City Data (WCCD) data bank. Furthermore, the country is facing an important set back on discussions about environmental and sustainable development issues. Piumhi, with approximately 38 thousand inhabitants and a mostly agricultural economy, is now getting started towards a sustainable future. In this scenario, this paper aims to verify Piumhi’s current status towards locally accomplishing the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Sustainable cities and communities. Thereby, it aims to help design a strategy for the city to meet the referred SDG by the 2030 deadline. In order to reach this purpose, the authors qualitatively analysed open data provided by public agencies. The results indicate that Piumhi is not responding to the above-mentioned guidelines as expected. Therefore, effective actions must be put into practice to assure the SDG 11 fulfilment. Finally, the authors suggest that new researches are made in order to list the opportunities and ways so Piumhi and similar cities get their passport into a resilient future. Thus, Brazil and other developing countries can become sustainable nations.