There are 3 major pillars to define and characterize a city as sustainable. These include social aspects, environmental components, and the economic situation.
Social
It has in mind the quality of life and is based on in indicators such as health, education, housing, crime rate, work-life balance.
Environment
Considers factors such as energy, pollution and emissions and is based on indicators such as energy consumption, green spaces within cities, recycling, composting, renewable energy, risk of natural disasters, sanitation and air pollution.
Economy
Evaluates economic health and is based on indicators such as business performance, ease of doing business, tourism, GDP per capita, connectivity and employment rate.
After all, what does it take for a city to be considered sustainable?
For a city to be considered sustainable it must have a balance between the 3 factors. There are cities full of green spaces, with reduced gas emissions, happy people with good jobs, but then they may not have a stable or egalitarian economy. Cities at the top of sustainability have the3 aspects that are as balanced and developed as possible.
Now that we know how cities are evaluated in order to be classified as themost sustainable can we reveal which cities, do you already have some in mind? If the ones that came to mind were Zurich, Singapore and Stockholmso congratulations, these are the ones!
What do top cities do especially to be on the podium?< br/>There is no fixed rule or standard for being a sustainable city, in fact cities are said to be sustainable for completely different reasons and initiatives. The important thing is that there is continuous development for the benefit of sustainability, not forgetting the environmental, social and economic components.
Zurich
The city of Zurich occupies first place on the podium, standing out in the environmental and economic index, occupying first and fifth place respectively.
It pioneered the ?2,000 watts per capita society? concept, a challenge (set for 2050) to combat climate change and resource scarcity. that citizens use 2000 watts of energy per capita, the global amount established as sustainable energy use. To meet the objective, investment and focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy, sustainable buildings, mobility for the future and increased awareness are required. public
The coordination of public transport has made mobility in Zurich simple, fast and accessible, mobility that is envied by other countries as it is considered a highly sustainable model. span>
The city not only attracts business but also people, with a good quality of life, attractive educational and employment opportunities and a leading healthcare position in the Index. Zurich is, in the eyes of the population, an attractive place to invest, live and work.
City of Singapore
The city of Singapore - a city-state - leads the economic aspect. This city has numerous sustainability initiatives underway, which will lead to evolution and allow it to remain on the podium. Despite its good ranking, the city continues to show a great proactive spirit. It predicts population growth of more than six million by 2030, where the government has committed to making significant investment to improve mobility and connectivity within the city.
Of the 3 aspects, social is where the city needs growth. It faces an aging population and the need for greater investment in social infrastructure. Making the situation worse are long working hours, income inequality and accessibility, which harm Singapore's social classification.
Singapore aims to make at least 80% of all buildings ?green? by 2030 in order to improve environmental quality so that they are increasingly sustainable and healthy .
Stockholm
With the bronze medal we have Stockholm, the Swedish capital with 975 thousand inhabitants, which invested in planning that took the city to the podium, with a primarily sustainable vision. The transformation of rivers that were polluted into places suitable for fishing and leisure were crucial factors in improving the quality of life in the Swedish capital.
The city hosted, in 1972, the UN ?United Nations Conference on the Human Environment?. At the event, the city stood out worldwide for its excellent combination of administrative management with urban planning.
Stockholm is a city with great capacity for growth in the area of ??sustainability, where it has created many initiatives with the help of technology since very early on. For example, we have the various locations where containers are installed for the separation of solid waste, which are connected via underground piping to a specific terminal for each type of waste, which leads to the need for trucks to collect them.< /p>
Author: Ana Miguel
Reviewed by: André Castro
About the Author:
Ana Miguel, 20 years old, Engineering student.
I have been part of Forall Family as a Shaper since February 2020. As soon as I started my journey in the Community, I always wanted to create more impact! In January 2021 I joined the Forall Phones blog project and in March 2021 I became Team Leader. I like sports like Basket and Yoga, and I'm always looking for new challenges!
