Evaluating Urban Quality: Indicators and Assessment Tools for Smart Sustainable Cities
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Methodology and Objectives of Urban Quality Evaluation
2.2. Designing of the Indicators Criteria
2.3. The Case Study of Cagliari (Italy)
2.4. Identification of a Shortlist of Indicators
3. Results
4. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References and Note
- Caragliu, A.; Del Bo, C.; Nijkamp, P. Smart cities in Europe. J. Urban Technol. 2011, 18, 65–82. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- European Parliament. Mapping Smart Cities in the EU; European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies: Brussels, Belgium, 2014. [Google Scholar]
- Vázquez, J.L.; Lanero, A.; Gutiérrez, P.; Sahelices, C. The Contribution of Smart Cities to Quality of Life from the View of Citizens. In Entrepreneurial, Innovative and Sustainable Ecosystems; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2018; pp. 55–66. [Google Scholar]
- Ibrahim, M.; El-Zaart, A.; Adams, C. Smart Sustainable Cities roadmap: Readiness for transformation towards urban sustainability. Sustain. Cities Soc. 2018, 37, 530–540. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ahvenniemi, H.; Huovila, A.; Pinto-Seppä, I.; Airaksinen, M. What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities? Cities 2017, 60, 234–245. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Höjer, M.; Wangel, J. Smart sustainable cities: Definition and challenges. In ICT Innovations for Sustainability; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2015; pp. 333–349. [Google Scholar]
- Monfaredzadeh, T.; Berardi, U. Beneath the smart city: Dichotomy between sustainability and competitiveness. Int. J. Sustain. Build. Technol. Urban Dev. 2015, 6, 140–156. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Berardi, U. Sustainability assessments of urban communities through rating systems. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2013, 15, 1573–1591. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Turcu, C. Re-thinking sustainability indicators: Local perspectives of urban sustainability. J. Environ. Plan. Manag. 2013, 56, 695–719. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cugurullo, F. Exposing smart cities and eco-cities: Frankenstein urbanism and the sustainability challenges of the experimental city. Environ. Plan. A 2017, 50, 1–20. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sanseverino, E.R. The Role of Technology in Participative Processes. In Smart Cities Atlas; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2017; pp. 207–231. [Google Scholar]
- Pinna, F.; Masala, F.; Garau, C. Urban Policies and Mobility Trends in Italian Smart Cities. Sustainability 2017, 9, 494. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Giffinger, R.; Gudrun, H. Smart cities ranking: An effective instrument for the positioning of cities? ACE Arch. City Environ. 2010, 4, 7–25. [Google Scholar]
- Ballas, D. What makes a ‘happy city’? Cities 2013, 32, S39–S50. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dameri, R.P. Smart City Implementation: Creating Economic and Public Value in Innovative Urban Systems; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Neirotti, P.; Marco, A.; Cagliano, A.C.; Mangano, G.; Scorrano, F. Current trends in smart city initiatives: Some stylised facts. Cities 2014, 38, 25–36. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Piro, G.; Cianci, I.; Grieco, L.A.; Boggia, G.; Camarda, P. Information centric services in smart cities. J. Syst. Softw. 2014, 88, 169–188. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Alshuwaikhat, H.M.; Abubakar, I.R.; Aina, Y.A.; Adenle, Y.A.; Umair, M. The Development of a GIS-Based Model for Campus Environmental Sustainability Assessment. Sustainability 2017, 9, 439. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yarime, M. Facilitating data-intensive approaches to innovation for sustainability: Opportunities and challenges in building smart cities. Sustain. Sci. 2017, 12, 881–885. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Leach, J.M.; Lee, S.E.; Hunt, D.V.; Rogers, C.D. Improving city-scale measures of livable sustainability: A study of urban measurement and assessment through application to the city of Birmingham, UK. Cities 2017, 71, 80–87. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Solano, S.E.; Casado, P.P.; Ureba, S.F. Smart Cities and Sustainable Development. A Case Study. In Sustainable Smart Cities; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2017; pp. 65–77. [Google Scholar]
- Shichiyakh, R.A.; Klyuchnikov, D.A.; Balashova, S.P.; Novoselov, S.N.; Novosyolova, N.N. Smart city as the basic construct of the socio-economic development of territories. Int. J. Econ. Financ. Issues 2016, 6, 157–162. [Google Scholar]
- Fleischmann, A.; Heuser, L. Society Requirements and Acceptance of the Smart City Programs. 2015. Available online: http://smartpolis.eit.bme.hu/sites/default/files/D3.1_Soc.%20req.%20and%20acceptance%20of%20the%20smart%20city%20programs.pdf (accessed on 21 December 2017).
- Chourabi, H.; Nam, T.; Walker, S.; Gil-Garcia, R.; Mellouli, S.; Nahon, K.; Scholl, H.J. Understanding smart cities: An integrative framework. In Proceedings of the 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Maui, HI, USA, 4–7 January 2012; pp. 2289–2297. [Google Scholar]
- Abis, E.; Garau, C. An assessment of the effectiveness of strategic spatial planning: A study of Sardinian municipalities. Eur. Plan. Stud. 2016, 24, 139–162. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Marans, R.W.; Stimson, R. Investigating quality of urban life: Theory, methods, and empirical research. Soc. Indic. Res. 2011, 45, 1–29. [Google Scholar]
- Dotti, G. How to Measure the Quality of Life in Smart Cities? 2016. Available online: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-quality-life-smart-cities.html (accessed on 21 December 2017).
- Bosch, P.; Jongeneel, S.; Rovers, V.; Neumann, H.M.; Airaksinen, M.; Huovila, A. Smart City KPIs and Related Methodology. Available online: http://nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/D1.4-CITYkeys_D14_Smart_City_KPIs_Final_20160201.pdf (accessed on 21 December 2017).
- HORIZON 2020 Programme. Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020 (accessed on 21 December 2017).
- Carta, M. Creative city 3.0: Smart cities for the urban age. In Smart Planning for Europe’s Gateway Cities. Connecting Peoples, Economies and Places, Proceedings of the IX Biennial of European Towns and Town Planners, Rome, Italy, 14–17 September 2011; Vergano, A., Carvana, A., Eds.; Inu Edizioni: Genova, Italy, 2012. [Google Scholar]
- Rajović, R.; Bulatović, J. Theoretical approach to the study of quality of life in rural and urban settlements. Ser. Geogr. Analele Univ. Oradea 2016, 26, 5–24. [Google Scholar]
- Murgaš, F. Geographical conceptualization of quality of life. Ekologia 2016, 35, 309–319. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Eurostat. Quality of Life Indicators. Available online: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Quality_of_life_indicators_-_measuring_quality_of_life (accessed on 21 December 2017).
- Taş, M.; Taş, N.; Aydin, Z.B. Production of quality housing in urban transformation in areas under disaster risk: Osmangazi and Yıldırım, Bursa, Turkey. Urban Stud. Res. 2014. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rezvani, M.R.; Mansourian, H.; Sattari, M.H. Evaluating quality of life in urban areas. Soc. Indic. Res. 2013, 112, 203–220. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Discoli, C.; Martini, I.; San Juan, G.; Barbero, D.; Dicroce, L.; Ferreyro, C.; Esparza, J. Methodology aimed at evaluating urban life quality levels. Sustain. Cities Soc. 2014, 10, 140–148. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Economist Intelligence Unit. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Quality of Life Index. The World in 2005. 2005. Available online: http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- Mercer. 2014 Quality of Living Worldwide Rankings–Mercer Survey. New York. 2014. Available online: http://www.uk.mercer.com/newsroom/2014-quality-of-living-survey.html (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- Monocle. Quality of Life Survey 2013. 2014. Available online: http://monocle.com/film/affairs/quality-oflife-survey-2013/ (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- International Living. 2014. Available online: http://internationalliving.com/world-rankings/ (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- Doan, D.T.; Ghaffarianhoseini, A.; Naismith, N.; Zhang, T.; Ghaffarianhoseini, A.; Tookey, J. A critical comparison of green building rating systems. Build. Environ. 2017, 123, 243–260. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Albino, V.; Berardi, U.; Dangelico, R.M. Smart cities: Definitions, dimensions, performance, and initiatives. J. Urban Technol. 2015, 22, 3–21. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Woods, E.; Alexander, D.; Rodriguez Labastida, R.; Watson, R. UK Smart Cities Index: Assessment of Strategy and Execution of the UK’s Leading Smart Cities; Navigant Consulting, Inc.: Boulder, CO, USA, 2016. [Google Scholar]
- European Commission. Directorate-General for the Environment. Indicators for sustainable cities. In In-Depth Report 12; Science Communication Unit, UWE: Bristol, UK, 2015. [Google Scholar]
- Hiremath, R.B.; Balachandra, P.; Kumar, B.; Bansode, S.S.; Murali, J. Indicator based urban sustainability: A review. Energy Sustain. Dev. 2013, 17, 555–563. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Neumann, H.M.; Pangerl, E.; Airaksinen, M.; Ahvenniemi, H.; Bosch, P.; DeCunto, A.; Zueger, J. Measuring the performance of smart cities in Europe. In Proceedings of the First WBCSD and EMAN Joint International Sustainability Accounting Symposium, Geneva, Switzerland, 1–2 October 2015. [Google Scholar]
- Degbelo, A.; Granell, C.; Trilles, S.; Bhattacharya, D.; Casteleyn, S.; Kray, C. Opening up smart cities: Citizen-centric challenges and opportunities from GIScience. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inform. 2016, 5, 16. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Garau, C. Focus on Citizens: Public Engagement with Online and Face-to-Face Participation—A Case Study. Future Internet 2012, 4, 592–606. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Garau, C. Processi di Piano e Partecipazione [Planning Processes and Citizen Participation]; Gangemi Editore: Rome, Italy, 2013. [Google Scholar]
- Pavan, V.; Garau, C. Public participation in urban quality assessment and decision making. Reg. Mag. 2009, 274, 18–20. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gehl, J. Cities for People; Island Press: Washington, DC, USA, 2010; ISBN 978-1597265737. [Google Scholar]
- The High Density Livability Question. Available online: http://www.livablecities.org/articles/high-density-livability-question (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- Lehmann, S. Sustainable urbanism: Towards a framework for quality and optimal density? Future Cities Environ. 2016, 2. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Sørensen, C.N.; Lütken, A.-S.; Erikshøj, C.; Landgren, M.; Uebel, C. Indicators as tool for evaluating the sustainability of Ørestad. Nord and Ørestad City. Des. Civ. Environ. Eng. 2014, 137, 18–20. [Google Scholar]
- Delsante, I. Urban environment quality assessment using a methodology and set of indicators for medium-density neighbourhoods: A comparative case study of Lodi and Genoa. Ambient. Constr. 2016, 16, 7–22. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- LEED for Neighborhood Development. Available online: https://www.cnu.org/our-projects/leed-neighborhood-development (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- Virginia McLaren: Urban Sustainability Reporting. Available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01944369608975684 (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- CIVITAS Framework. Available online: http://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/civitas_wiki_d4_10_evaluation_framework.pdf (accessed on 2 February 2018).
- Delsante, I.; Bertolino, N.; Bugatti, A.; Cristina, M.L. Indicators for urban quality evaluation at district scale and relationships with health and wellness perception. In Proceedings of the World Sustainable Building 2014 Conference, Barcelona, Spain, 28–30 October 2014. [Google Scholar]
- DemoIstat. Demografia in Cifre. Available online: http://demo.istat.it/ (accessed on 21 December 2017).
- Dhingra, M.; Chattopadhyay, S. Advancing smartness of traditional settlements-case analysis of Indian and Arab old cities. Int. J. Sustain. Built Environ. 2016, 5, 549–563. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Litman, T. Accessibility for Transportation Planning: Measuring People’s Ability to Reach Desired Goods and Activities; Victoria Transport Policy Institute: Victoria, BC, Canada, 2016; Available online: http://www.vtpi.org/access.pdf (accessed on 21 December 2017).
- Blečić, I.; Cecchini, A.; Congiu, T.; Pazzola, M.; Trunfio, G.A. A design and planning support system for walkability and pedestrian accessibility. Lect. Notes Comp. Sci. 2013, 7974, 284–293. [Google Scholar]
- Blečić, I.; Cecchini, A.; Congiu, T.; Fancello, G.; Trunfio, G.A. Walkability explorer: An evaluation and design support tool for walkability. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference INPUT—Smart City—Planning for Energy, Transportation and Sustainability of the Urban System, Naples, Italy, 4–6 June 2014; pp. 65–76. [Google Scholar]
- Letaifa, S.B. How to strategize smart cities: Revealing the SMART model. J. Bus. Res. 2015, 68, 1414–1419. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- The big data platform (called ‘Km4city’ created and developed by the DISIT lab, led by Prof. Paolo Nesi—http://www.km4city.org/) is currently tested in Florence and in Cagliari (Italy) and the results of Smart Sustainable Quality are in progress and not yet transferred into the big data platform.
Categories | Indicators | Sub-Indicators |
---|---|---|
Use and fruition | Accessibility | Traffic accessibility |
Pedestrian accessibility | ||
Accessibility for people with disabilities | ||
Sustainable walkability | ||
Ciclability | ||
Flexibility and functionality | Services for people with disabilities | |
Multifunctional and sustainable urban equipment | ||
Minimum service provided | Availability of services and equipment | |
Availability of waste container | ||
Health and wellbeing | Emotional wellbeing | Presence of green areas |
Attractiveness of living place | ||
Quality of Street lighting | ||
Easy mobility services | ||
Environmental maintenance | ||
Quality of life | Urban traffic noise pollution | |
Air pollution | ||
Housing | ||
Livability and sustainability of public spaces | ||
Presence of spaces, services and activities | ||
Sustainable daycare and healthcare services | ||
Social wellbeing | Spaces, services and activities suitable for children | |
Provision of services or activities for particular group | ||
Economic opportunity and social inclusion | ||
Perception of security | ||
Appearance | Environment characteristics | Quality of urban landscape |
Green maintenance | ||
Built environment characteristics | Urban design maintenance | |
Quality of housing and urban-esthetic characteristics | ||
Management | Efficiency of primary services | Waste management |
Efficiency of the urban maintenance services | ||
Environment | Soil pollution | Protection of Cultural Heritage |
Respect of local landscape and environment | ||
Street and public areas cleaning | ||
Waste disposal provided and sustainable recycling solutions | ||
Access to clean water | ||
Safety and security | Security systems | Lighting and security control |
Smart crime prevention | Social security level | |
Risk of natural disaster | Probability of natural disaster |
Sub-Indicator | |
---|---|
Name | Green space in urban areas |
Description | Public spaces like parks, gardens, squares and sport areas |
Method of measurement | Calculation |
Unit | square meters of green areas/total number of inhabitants |
Category | Health and Wellbeing |
Indicator | Emotional wellbeing |
Census Section | Category | Indicator | Sub-Indicator | Score Sub-Indicator | Total Score Indicator | Total Score Category |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
286 | Use and Fruition | Accessibility | Pedestrian Accessibility | 10 | ||
Traffic Accessibility | 2 | |||||
Accessibility for people with disabilities | 4 | 30 | ||||
Sustainable walkability | 10 | |||||
Ciclability | 4 | |||||
Flexibility and functionality | Service for people with disabilities | 8 | ||||
Multifunctional and sustainable urban equipment | 14 | |||||
Minimun service provided | Availability of service and equipment | 24 | ||||
Availability of waste container | 6 |
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Garau, C.; Pavan, V.M. Evaluating Urban Quality: Indicators and Assessment Tools for Smart Sustainable Cities. Sustainability 2018, 10, 575. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030575
Garau C, Pavan VM. Evaluating Urban Quality: Indicators and Assessment Tools for Smart Sustainable Cities. Sustainability. 2018; 10(3):575. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030575
Chicago/Turabian StyleGarau, Chiara, and Valentina Maria Pavan. 2018. "Evaluating Urban Quality: Indicators and Assessment Tools for Smart Sustainable Cities" Sustainability 10, no. 3: 575. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030575