Abstract
The assessment of sustainability—in its three meanings: economic, social, and environmental ones—needs to be supported by specific econometric and statistical methodologies in order to be properly considered in policymaking processes. In the current literature the use of specific indices, capable of summarizing the three fields of sustainability, is a proven operational practice to express judgments on the convenience and the feasibility of investment in cities. It is necessary to specify that most sustainability indices are ordinarily calculated as arithmetic and geometric means of sub-dimensions. However, these two approaches do not allow investigation of the potential interactions between the various dimensions considered and, specifically, the geometric mean fails to smooth out unbalanced links. The research carried out here is aimed at implementing the use of the Choquet integral, as a non-additive and flexible aggregation model, to calculate evaluation indices able to consider the relationships between the different sustainable dimensions to be used in urban transformation projects. The methodology was tested on a case study, concerning an analysis—under economic, social, and environmental points of view—of different European countries. The evaluation frame based on the Choquet integral is referred to a ranking case aimed to establish the most sustainable country under the economic, environmental, and social point of view. The results obtained from the index processing show that the geometric mean scores and arithmetic ones are rather homogeneous, while the variations obtained among the three dimensions are moderately large. In the synoptic picture obtained with Choquet’s integral, countries with balanced results across dimensions are in higher positions. Therefore, the Choquet integral allows positive interactions to be taken into account across sustainable dimensions, and it is able to detect unbalanced achievements.
Highlights
In the economic assessment of investments in the urban context, in reference to the concept of well-being, the measurement of income as a single control parameter cannot be considered sufficient [1,2]
The use of indices allows the knowledge of the intervention context to be improved, and it facilitates the identification of sustainable design solutions consistent with the 17 SDGs (United Nations Agenda 2030)
Methodologies and tools of economic evaluation are essential in the process of choosing the “best” alternatives as they allow proper consideration of the many aspects of sustainability, and the effects generated by the intervention in the context of reference
Summary
In the economic assessment of investments in the urban context, in reference to the concept of well-being, the measurement of income as a single control parameter cannot be considered sufficient [1,2]. In a world-wide context, the political agenda at country level considers the improvements in the well-being field when assessing the social development in relation to the environmental protection and the economic growth of the territory. Domestic Product (GDP)” to measure the well-being and the sustainable development have. The Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission) released a report (September 2009) with 12 recommendations for a better social well-being measurement, able to overcome the limitations of standard metrics like GDP [8]. In order to take concrete actions for the sustainable development of each European country, the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) set up in 2010 a working group to spread and promote the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission’s recommendations. To monitor the growth of prosperity at country level in a timely manner, several indices of the union of multiple welfare dimensions’ sets were defined [9]
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