Urban Sustainability Performance Research Articles

Measuring urban sustainability performance through composite indicators for Spanish cities

The role that cities play in the transition to more sustainable growth is gaining increasing recognition. Measuring progress towards sustainable urban development requires quantifying this multi-dimensional phenomenon with the help of composite indicators. The purpose of this study is to propose an integrated approach to build a sustainable cities’ interval of composite indicators that rely on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework. In addition, we propose to overcome the problem of calculating a single number by constructing a strong-weak sustainability performance interval depending on the choice of the compensability level in the aggregation stage of individual indicators. One of the advantages of this interval is that it provides information on both the average performance and the worst value of the set of indicators considered for each SDG. Moreover, it also extends the analysis for the people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership dimensions defined by the 2030 Agenda. As an example of application, we constructed these intervals for 50 Spanish cities, which are provincial capitals. This application lets us get a more accurate vision that can serve as a valuable tool for better urban planning design. • SDGs-based composite indicators foster knowledge and insight on urban sustainability. • Monitoring SDGs performance by an interval of composite indicators support urban planning. • Strong and weak aggregation rules are applied to deal with compensability among criteria. • Warning signals on the SDGs low performance are highlighted by the lower bound of the interval. • A comprehensive picture of urban sustainability for 50 Spanish capitals of province is provided.

Urban Sustainability Performance Measurement of a Small Brazilian City

The population increase in cities implies the need to balance environmental, social, and economic demands in such a way that growth is guided by sustainable development. This research aimed to build a model for evaluating the performance of urban sustainability in a small Brazilian city. To structure the model, the multicriteria decision support methodology-constructivist (MCDA-C) was adopted, which aims to identify the objectives and criteria of a context based on the actors’ values. The measurement model resulted in 66 criteria, which were measured by considering the reference levels (Good and Neutral). The results of the analysis through the model showed that the city’s urban sustainability performance was good in 45 criteria, excellent in 20, and compromising in 1. Thus, there is a theoretical contribution by presenting a multi-criteria performance assessment methodology focused on the sustainability of small towns and practice by helping to formulate and evaluate public policies. In addition, when confronting the criteria of the model built with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it was identified that, although they are partially aligned, the improvement of performance in local sustainability has positive effects on achieving global goals.

Exploratory Analysis of Urban Sustainability by Applying a Strategy-Based Tailor-Made Weighting Method

The Hungarian cities are rarely analyzed in current urban studies, especially in terms of urban sustainability. The present study aimed at analyzing the Hungarian county seats by comparing them through economic, social, and environmental indicators, which cover a broad spectrum of urban sustainability by applying independent indicators. Altogether 30 variables have been involved from 2014 and 2018–2019 to reveal the regional pattern of urban sustainability among the Hungarian county seats by applying the strategy-based tailor-made (SBTM) weighting methodology. It takes into consideration the different emphases regarding local aspects and main issues of sustainability through the analysis of integrated settlement development strategies, which is a unique method compared to current approaches. After the evaluation of the results, it can be stated that the east–west axis was revealed regarding weighted and unweighted sustainability indices; furthermore, a highly heterogeneous spatial trend can be drawn with regard to the relative changes in urban sustainability performance without clearly defined regional clusters. This analysis can fill the current literature gap by analyzing the Hungarian context and elaborating an easy-to-use weighting methodology based on the cities’ development strategies which contribute to improving the variety of planning and decision-making tools in the field of urban development.

Глобальные города: многокритериальная оценка устойчивого развития

Многокритериальная оценка устойчивого (sustainable) и умного (smart) развития городов необходима для реализации нового стратегического направления трансформации городов c целью снижения их воздействия на окружающую среду, увеличения занятости и стимулирования экономического развития и улучшения качества жизни. Анализ показателей устойчивого и умного городского развития в 143 городах мира, включая Лондон, Нью-Йорк, Гонконг, Сан-Франциско, Лос-Анжелес, Сан-Паулу, Рио-де-Жанейро, Буэнос-Айрес, Париж, Берлин, Стокгольм, Москву, Пекин, Сеул, Сингапур, Шанхай, Сидней и Токио, проведен методом многокритериального оценивания по 20 индикаторам. Были выявлены основные факторы, влияющие на выбросы CO2 в городах, включая доли угля и возобновляемых источников (ВИЭ) в энергетике, уровень развития общественного транспорта, особенности велосипедного и пешеходного движения, степень переработки отходов, а также налог на выбросы углерода. Результаты показывают, что среди глобальных городов Сан-Франциско лидирует при выборе экономических и экологических факторов как приоритетных, Стокгольм – при выборе в качестве приоритетных социальной направленности и разумности развития. Сеул показывает очень хорошие показатели по всему спектру индикаторов. В статье обсуждаются стратегии, средства и показатели, которые позволяют городам лидировать в направлении устойчивого и умного развития. Такой подход может быть полезен для лиц, принимающих решения, а также для инвесторов, и может помочь в идентификации связей между различными сторонами устойчивого и умного развития, а также выявлению потенциала устойчивого развития и инвестиционных возможностей в городах.

Global urban sustainability assessment: A multidimensional approach

AbstractA new strategic direction for greening our cities and making them smart to reduce the environmental impact of their performance, increase employment and economic viability, and to enhance the quality of life requires a thorough assessment of sustainability and smart urban performance. This paper considers a database of over 90 global cities including London, New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Moscow, Beijing, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo exploring linkages between different sustainability and smart city dimensions. To assess urban sustainability performance, this study applied a multi‐criteria approach using a panel of 20 indicators to a set of 57 global cities. The assessment comprised important aspects of energy transitions, focusing on the drivers of CO2 emissions in cities, including the share of coal in the energy mix, public transport and cycling patterns, waste recycling, the water‐energy nexus, as well as the role of smart and creative economy. The results show that San Francisco leads in economic and environmental priorities, and Stockholm leads in social and smart city priorities. Seoul consistently performs very successfully across the whole spectrum of indicators. We devote considerable attention to the strategies, policies and performance of the leading cities, namely, San Francisco, Stockholm and Seoul. This assessment could be a valuable tool for policy‐makers and investors, and could help identify linkages between different sustainability dimensions, as well as investment opportunities in cities with sustainability potential.

A system dynamics model for simulating urban sustainability performance: A China case study

China has been experiencing a rapid urbanization process. Various relevant policies and strategies have been implemented for sustainable urbanization. For a better understanding of sustainable urbanization, many research efforts have been made on urban sustainability assessment. The traditional indicator index is normally used to evaluate the urban sustainability performance. However, the urban development is a complex system, and the existing methods cannot reflect the systemic interactions among variables. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a system dynamics model for simulating urban sustainability performance. The system dynamics model comprises four sub-systems, namely, the economic sector, social sector, environment sector and resource sector. Then, the system dynamics model is used to simulate the sustainability performance of the city, Beijing, with three scenarios. The results indicate that the system dynamics modelling is a useful tool for simulating urban sustainability performance and can help policy makers formulate relevant strategies for a better sustainable development of cities.

Awareness, perceptions and determinants of urban sustainable development concerns – Evidence from a central province in China

AbstractRapid economic growth and urbanization have contributed to increasing concerns around sustainable development in China. Although urban sustainable development is often comprised of environmental, economic, social and governance aspects, most empirical studies on the public perception of sustainability have exclusively focused on the environmental aspect. Using extensive survey data from three representative cities in Henan Province, China, this study is a first endeavor to examine how perceptions of urban sustainability performance and concerns vary by demographic and socio‐economic status of local residents. This study documents that familiarity with sustainable development concepts is positively associated with education, income, party affiliation and personal health of individuals, while negatively correlated with age. In addition, this study has shown that the most severe threats to sustainability as perceived by citizens are air pollution, corruption, income and education inequality, and excessive industrial production. At the same time, economic indicators such as unemployment, poverty and consumerism are considered lesser threats than social inequality or environmental pollution. Furthermore, residents generally view the sustainable development performance of their cities as mediocre. While generally younger residents and residents with higher levels of education tend to be more critical and long‐term residents tend to be more forgiving, results frequently show that concerns and attitudes towards sustainable development by various socio‐demographic groups differ from city to city. This is strong evidence to support independent local policies tailored to the socio‐demographics of each individual city.

Geoengineering in the Anthropocene through Regenerative Urbanism

Human consumption patterns exceed planetary boundaries and stress on the biosphere can be expected to worsen. The recent “Paris Agreement” (COP21) represents a major international attempt to address risk associated with climate change through rapid decarbonisation. The mechanisms for implementation are yet to be determined and, while various large-scale geoengineering projects have been proposed, we argue a better solution may lie in cities. Large-scale green urbanism in cities and their bioregions would offer benefits commensurate to alternative geoengineering proposals, but this integrated approach carries less risk and has additional, multiple, social and economic benefits in addition to a reduction of urban ecological footprint. However, the key to success will require policy writers and city makers to deliver at scale and to high urban sustainability performance benchmarks. To better define urban sustainability performance, we describe three horizons of green urbanism: green design, that seeks to improve upon conventional development; sustainable development, that is the first step toward a net zero impact; and the emerging concept of regenerative urbanism, that enables biosphere repair. Examples of green urbanism exist that utilize technology and design to optimize urban metabolism and deliver net positive sustainability performance. If mainstreamed, regenerative approaches can make urban development a major urban geoengineering force, while simultaneously introducing life-affirming co-benefits to burgeoning cities.