Measuring Urban Competitiveness Through the Lens of Sustainability: An Application at the Urban Districts Level in the City of Naples (Italy)

Abstract

AbstractUrban competitiveness, the study of which has broadened significantly in recent decades, is the ability of a city to attract investments, people and new activities. It depends on a multitude of closely interrelated factors that characterise urban areas. The multidimensional approach, which is typical of urban competitiveness studies, allows the attitude to sustainability to be considered as one of the possible measures of competitiveness. This work aims to evaluate, at the local level, the relationship between urban competitiveness and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted with Agenda 2030. The paper proposes a composite index structured in several dimensions that are useful to compare the competitive performance of cities’ districts in relation to social, economic and environmental sustainability features, providing a multidimensional ranking. The application phase focuses on the municipality of Naples, in Italy, chosen for the heterogeneity of its districts. The overall competitive performance of the city’s districts is highlighted, and their strengths and shortcomings in the different dimensions are considered. The results aim to emphasise the main components of competitiveness of the Neapolitan districts and support decision-makers in improving competitiveness in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.KeywordsUrban competitivenessSustainable development goalsUrban districts