Do International Urban Sustainability Monitoring Frameworks Respond to the Perceived Needs of Norwegian small and mediumsized cities? – Results of a Workshop

Abstract

Cities are estimated to have a 70% contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. This makes urban sustainability monitoring necessary, but are urban sustainability monitoring frameworks applicable to cities of all sizes? And do they offer a consistent overview of the sustainability status of core urban development areas, such as transport? The present research tests if the specific needs of small and medium-sized Norwegian cities, as perceived by local stakeholders, are consistently covered by the indicators of urban sustainability monitoring frameworks. To this purpose, four international frameworks were evaluated in the frame of a workshop: Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities, Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable Cities, ISO 37120:2018 Sustainable cities and communities — Indicators for city services and quality of life, and LEED for Cities (pilot phase). The evaluation was done by local and regional representatives of academia, the private sector, and public authorities with expertise in urban planning. A set of dedicated transport indicators was also evaluated. The results highlight the alignment between urban and transport sustainability indicators and the perceived needs of Norwegian small and medium-sized cities. These results pave the road for urban sustainability monitoring frameworks to better shape their tools towards the needs of small and medium-sized cities.