Urban sustainability assessment of five Latin American cities by using SDEWES index

Abstract

Very few cities in the world have a planning process based on a vision of sustainable development, even though 70% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. The Sustainable Development for Energy, Water, and Environment Systems (SDEWES) Index is one of the most cited methodologies, consisting of a comparative evaluation to contrast the sustainability levels of cities. The purpose of the study is to develop the best possible sustainable practices for Latin American cities for application through the framework of a solid SWEDES Index database of comparative analysis. Our institution was chosen for this study because of its location in the city of Cuernavaca, Mexico. Sole criteria for selection of other similar cities in Latin America was the City Prosperity Initiative (CPI), which threw the following SDEWES ranking: Lima, Peru with 2.87; Esmeraldas, Ecuador with 2.70; Cuernavaca, Mexico with 2.45, Juquitiba, Brazil with 2.20; and Panama, Panama with 1.78. Analysis of results permitted identification of strengths and weaknesses of each city as well as the recognition of best practices and recommendations of the method’s application in subsequent work.