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S. da Silva Neiva et al.
1 Introduction
Discussions regarding sustainable development gained visibility in the second half
of the 21st Century (Duran et al. 2015), due do the perception that the exaggerated
consumption habits may cause depletion of natural resources and damage to the
environment, as well as financial and economic crises (Yanarella and Levine 1992).
A change of thinking in development took place, no longer aiming for consumption
only, but for a green growth (Kidd 1992).
In 1987 the report “Our Common Future” produced by the Brundtland Commission where sustainable development was first conceptualized as meeting the needs
of the present without compromising future generations ability to meet their own
needs (Sinakou et al. 2018). After receiving a clear concept, sustainable development was the center of several international treaties and programs as Millennium
Development Goals, and later the Sustainable Development Goals, both created by
the United Nations (Persson et al. 2016; de Andrade et al. 2016).
One of the Sustainable Development Goals is to make cities and human settlements
more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (Duvier et al. 2018). In 2016, roughly
50% of human population lived in cities, and estimates show that by 2050 around
67% of human population will live in urban centers (Yang et al. 2017). The growth in
urban population may cause pressure on production and availability of key resources,
as water, food and energy (UN 2018).
Cities are centers of culture, science, commerce and productivity (Sofeska 2016).
However, they are also responsible for around 70% of available resources (Bibri
2018). Turning today’s cities into sustainable cities is essential to maintenance of
life (Zhang and Li 2018). To help in this process, several indicators contribute to
a better understanding off all spheres which surround the city and which measures
must be taken (Klopp and Petretta 2017). In this sense, a deepening in studies in
sustainability indicators and sustainable development in cities was proposed.
This paper is justified for how important it is to understand which the main factors
are to determine a sustainable city, and how important each of these factors are. Then,
the goal of this research was to identify the main factors and indicators related to
sustainability in cities by creating a multicriteria analysis tree, built based in a survey
applied to specialists. The result of the research will support the decision markers,
enabling them a better use of resources on the most important areas in a way that
meets the principles of environmental sustainability in cities.
2 Methodology
This paper uses a multi-criteria analysis in order to identify indicators and create
an assessment model to serve as a supportive decision tool for sustainable cities.
According to this methodology, it will be possible to evaluate how much a city is
close or far to be considered a sustainable city. The multicriteria methodology is part
S. da Silva Neiva et al.
1 Introduction
Discussions regarding sustainable development gained visibility in the second half
of the 21st Century (Duran et al. 2015), due do the perception that the exaggerated
consumption habits may cause depletion of natural resources and damage to the
environment, as well as financial and economic crises (Yanarella and Levine 1992).
A change of thinking in development took place, no longer aiming for consumption
only, but for a green growth (Kidd 1992).
In 1987 the report “Our Common Future” produced by the Brundtland Commission where sustainable development was first conceptualized as meeting the needs
of the present without compromising future generations ability to meet their own
needs (Sinakou et al. 2018). After receiving a clear concept, sustainable development was the center of several international treaties and programs as Millennium
Development Goals, and later the Sustainable Development Goals, both created by
the United Nations (Persson et al. 2016; de Andrade et al. 2016).
One of the Sustainable Development Goals is to make cities and human settlements
more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (Duvier et al. 2018). In 2016, roughly
50% of human population lived in cities, and estimates show that by 2050 around
67% of human population will live in urban centers (Yang et al. 2017). The growth in
urban population may cause pressure on production and availability of key resources,
as water, food and energy (UN 2018).
Cities are centers of culture, science, commerce and productivity (Sofeska 2016).
However, they are also responsible for around 70% of available resources (Bibri
2018). Turning today’s cities into sustainable cities is essential to maintenance of
life (Zhang and Li 2018). To help in this process, several indicators contribute to
a better understanding off all spheres which surround the city and which measures
must be taken (Klopp and Petretta 2017). In this sense, a deepening in studies in
sustainability indicators and sustainable development in cities was proposed.
This paper is justified for how important it is to understand which the main factors
are to determine a sustainable city, and how important each of these factors are. Then,
the goal of this research was to identify the main factors and indicators related to
sustainability in cities by creating a multicriteria analysis tree, built based in a survey
applied to specialists. The result of the research will support the decision markers,
enabling them a better use of resources on the most important areas in a way that
meets the principles of environmental sustainability in cities.
2 Methodology
This paper uses a multi-criteria analysis in order to identify indicators and create
an assessment model to serve as a supportive decision tool for sustainable cities.
According to this methodology, it will be possible to evaluate how much a city is
close or far to be considered a sustainable city. The multicriteria methodology is part