Desenvolvimento sustentável de comunidades - aplicabilidade e contextualização global dos indicadores urbanos

Abstract

Purpose – The need to plan and manage cities is increasingly aligned with the search for sustainable development in all its dimensions. Countless initiatives and tools aim to assist in this process, as is the case of urban indicators, which serve as a basis for measuring, analyzing and understanding the context of cities. In this sense, the main objective of this article is to understand and analyze the context and application of one of these tools, ISO 37120 - Sustainable Development of Communities: Indicators for urban services and quality of life. ISO 37120 is an internationally recognized standard, composed of integrated urban indicators, which balance three dimensions of sustainable development; in addition, the standard allows the implementation of smart city initiatives.Design/methodology/approach – Documentary research was used and, subsequently, a critical analysis was carried out, from which positive and negative points were identified in relation to the application of ISO.Findings – Results demonstrate the increasing use of ISO 37120 as a way of measuring urban indicators; however, there is still difficulty in continuing to validate the methodology after the first certification. In addition, it was found that most of the certified cities are national capitals, cities that have also been looking for alternatives to become more intelligent and sustainable.Originality/value – The operation of ISO 37120 certification was presented, as well as some weaknesses and potentialities of this certification system, which aims to assist in the solution of main urban issues, building smarter, more sustainable and resilient cities.