Monitoring sustainability in the world's larger cities: Example application to Chicago and Lusaka
Christopher Kennedy
University of Victoria/
Professor and Chair, Civil Engineering, University of Victoria. Qualified in Civil Engineering, Economics and Business; advise on policies and planning for sustainable infrastructure. Clients have included the governments of: Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK, as well as the World Bank, Ontario Ministry of Finance, and others. In 2011/12 seconded to the OECD in Paris, to work on Cities, Green Growth and Policies for Encouraging Investment in Low Carbon Infrastructure. Past visiting professor at Oxford University and ETH Zürich. Currently serves as past President of the International Society for Industrial Ecology and Senior Fellow at the Global Cities Institute. Author of The Evolution of Great World Cities: Urban Wealth and Economic Growth.
Abstract
The world’s larger cities (urban areas with populations greater than 5 million) play a disproportionately large role in global culture and economy, energy and material flows, pollution and loss of biodiversity. The world’s... [ view full abstract ]
The world’s larger cities (urban areas with populations greater than 5 million) play a disproportionately large role in global culture and economy, energy and material flows, pollution and loss of biodiversity. The world’s current 27 megacities for example, have regional and global impacts in excess of most countries. We develop a methodology to monitor sustainability in the world’s larger cities (starting with the 122 cities expected to have populations in excess of 5Mn by 2050). Detailed application is provided for Chicago and Lusaka.
Sustainability is monitored in two broad areas: bio-physical and socio-economic indicators. Bio-physical indicators include 16 metrics that closely correspond to planetary boundaries of climate change, biodiversity loss, fresh water use, land use change, nitrogen cycle, and pollution. Geophysical risk (from a city’s perspective) is added. Socio-economic indicators are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, again from a city’s perspective, with 24 metrics to assess youth opportunity, economy,energy access and intensity, mobility and connectivity, institutions, basic services, and security and public safety.
We develop a web-based data management system for urban sustainability metrics and launch preliminary research teams to compile and update sustainability metrics for the world’s larger cities (urban areas). The methodology enables monitoring of sustainability over time in the same city or across cities. City-based assessments are designed to facilitate national and international aggregation of common sustainability metrics. Sustainability assessments for Chicago and Lusaka are added to five cities previouslycompleted: Dakar, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Toronto.
Authors
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Daniel Hoornweg
(University of Ontario Institute of Technology)
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Christopher Kennedy
(University of Victoria/)
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Heather MacLean
(University of Toronto)
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Chibulu Luo
(University of Toronto)
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Mehdi Hosseini
(University of Ontario Institute of Technology)
Topic Areas
• Complexity, resilience and sustainability , • Public policy and governance , • Sustainable urban systems
Session
ThS-20 » International comparisons of sustainable systems (13:45 - Thursday, 29th June, Room E)
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