Article ID: | iaor200969587 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 16 |
Issue: | 5 |
Start Page Number: | 329 |
End Page Number: | 340 |
Publication Date: | Sep 2008 |
Journal: | Sustainable Development |
Authors: | Keirstead James, Leach Matt |
Keywords: | developing countries, measurement |
Urban sustainability indicators play an important role in helping policy-makers ensure the continued success of their cities. However, a review of current practice suggests that priority is often given to the measurability and policy relevance of these metrics. Their analytical validity – i.e. their ability to act as meaningful representations of the urban system and thus inform appropriate policy responses – is less certain. An examination of London's USIs confirms this gap between theory and practice and identifies vague definitions of urban sustainability as part of the problem. A ‘service niche’ approach to indicator selection is therefore outlined, using pervasive goal-oriented urban services such as energy or water systems to guide the selection of policy-relevant interconnected metrics. Strategies for expanding such niches to wider assessments of urban sustainability are also discussed.