Urban Sustainability Indicators from a Regional Perspective: Lessons from the Montreal Metropolitan Area

Abstract

In this paper, we assess the performance variation of the municipalities in the greater Montreal area between 2005 and 2010 for a set of 12 common urban sustainability indicators. We then measure the global and local spatial autocorrelation of each indicator’s variation in order to describe the regional distribution of the indicators. Three different patterns emerge from this analysis: (1) converging pattern; (2) diverging pattern, and (3) random pattern of the performance variation of the municipalities across the region. The results suggest the relevance of further research on the potential spillover effects of an individual city’s performance, which could be overlooked because a local administration’s monitoring of progress is generally performed within its own jurisdiction. Examples of urban sustainability issues for which assessment and monitoring could be more effective at a regional scale include urban densification and public security.