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Sustainable Cities Index 2015 report tries to classify 50 of the world’ s most eminent cities in terms of social, environmental and economic impact. Very interesting findings arise when the index is decomposed in its three components and also, when focusing on the regional dimension of these results.
Some of the main findings indicate that across the world, cities perform better in terms of economic and environmental sustainability, while at the same time they fail to sufficiently meet the needs of their inhabitants. Moreover, it is worth mentioning the fact that no utopian city exists, thus local governments should focus on improving the balance between the three pillars of sustainability, as mentioned in this case. Three sub-indices used to measure sustainability are People, Planet and Profit.
The regional dimension of this study also illustrates the importance of geographical location. In general, European cities come top of the overall rankings, while Asian cities show the most divergent behavior. None of the cities located in North America makes it into the top ten and in the case of South America, Santiago (30th) and São Paulo (31st) are the two highest ranking cities.
As our planet continues to evolve, people will continue to flock to its busy, dynamic and imposing urban centers. Urban migration is now very much the norm. Love them or avoid them, we are now entering the Age of the City.
Find the full report here.