The dynamic index of urban environment quality as a tool for sustainable urban development

Abstract

Based on the analysis of domestic and foreign experience, the authors of the article have developed and tested the methodology for constructing a dynamic index of urban environment quality (DIUEQ) of a single municipal entity in Russia. The main methodological principle of building DIUEQ is a hierarchical approach, the main method is the method of summary indicators, and the main features of the calculation methodology of the index are its simplicity, clarity and transparency. Each of the four aggregated groups of indicators includes three sub-groups of the same name–indicators of provision, indicators of sociological measurements and economic indicators. The dynamics of DIUEQ and the dynamics of its structural components reflect the nature of changes in the city indicators both in retrospect and in forecasting. The authors give an example of calculating the index according to the proposed method for the city of Kirov for 2016. Moreover, the authors show how promising it is to assess by DIUEQ the dynamics of the quality of the urban environment in general, of certain groups and subgroups of indicators for the temporal dynamics of the corresponding indices included in the DIUEQ, as well as forecasting and setting the tasks of sustainable urban development by both municipalities and public groups.