consumption; the characteristics of the residents, which are diverse, mostly active,
and cosmopolitan; and physical features that include a high density of large infrastructure, roads, and buildings.
Finally, the interpretation of the indicators following their calculation has been
overlooked in sustainability assessments of megacities although several authors have
addressed the implementation of USI in the decision-making and planning processes
on local and regional scales (Holman 2009; Mancebo 2013). In most of the existing
approaches, the use of indicators, both quantitative and qualitative, has been limited
to identifying the relative performance of each city and serves as a checklist on
strengths and weaknesses to be considered in future planning and policy. Thus, when
megacities are compared, the relative performance is usually insufficient as a means
of identifying the ones that should serve as examples for others. This situation has
been highlighted in the Québec case study. On the one hand, some of the top-ranked
cities recorded lower rankings when substitutability issues of the indicators and their
improvement over time were considered as additional criteria. On the other hand,
others stood out with much better rankings as their overall performance improved
over time. More importantly, the non-substitutability of environmental and socioeconomic indicators, as well as improvement over time, serve as an important
threshold, which allowed us to identify only four cities out of the 25 that were
able to reach the sustainability criteria given their relatively high ranking, good
performance in both addressing socioeconomic and environmental factors, and the
fact that they improved over time.
References
Bell, S., & Morse, S. (2008). Sustainability indicators: Measuring the immeasurable? London:
Earthscan.
Boutaud, A. (2004). Le développement durable: penser le changement ou changer le pansement?
Resource document. University of Jean Monnet. Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://tel.
archivesouvertes.fr/docs/00/78/11/87/PDF/2005_these_A_Boutaud.pdf
Canadian Federation of Municipalities. (2007). Vers une politique de développement durable des
municipalités. Québec: Fédération québécoise des municipalités.
City of Montréal. (2010). Le plan de développement durable de la collectivité montréalaise
2010–2015. Resource document. City of Montréal. Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://ville.
montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/pes_publications_fr/publications/plan_2010_2015.pdf
Connelly, S. (2007). Mapping sustainable development as a contested concept. Local Environment,
12(3), 259–278.
Cruz, N. F. D., & Marques, R. C. (2014). Scorecards for sustainable local governments. Cities, 39,
165–170.
Dora Costa, H. B. & Lleras-Muney, A. (2013). Trends in health, education and income In the
United States, 1820–2000. Resource document. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://www.nber.org/papers/w19162
Economist Intelligence Unit. (2012). Hot spots: Benchmarking global city competitiveness.
London: The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited.
Eichholtz, P., Kok, N., & Quigley, J. M. (2013). The economics of green building. Review of
Economics and Statistics, 95(1), 50–63.
10 The Urban Sustainability Indicators in Québec
201
and cosmopolitan; and physical features that include a high density of large infrastructure, roads, and buildings.
Finally, the interpretation of the indicators following their calculation has been
overlooked in sustainability assessments of megacities although several authors have
addressed the implementation of USI in the decision-making and planning processes
on local and regional scales (Holman 2009; Mancebo 2013). In most of the existing
approaches, the use of indicators, both quantitative and qualitative, has been limited
to identifying the relative performance of each city and serves as a checklist on
strengths and weaknesses to be considered in future planning and policy. Thus, when
megacities are compared, the relative performance is usually insufficient as a means
of identifying the ones that should serve as examples for others. This situation has
been highlighted in the Québec case study. On the one hand, some of the top-ranked
cities recorded lower rankings when substitutability issues of the indicators and their
improvement over time were considered as additional criteria. On the other hand,
others stood out with much better rankings as their overall performance improved
over time. More importantly, the non-substitutability of environmental and socioeconomic indicators, as well as improvement over time, serve as an important
threshold, which allowed us to identify only four cities out of the 25 that were
able to reach the sustainability criteria given their relatively high ranking, good
performance in both addressing socioeconomic and environmental factors, and the
fact that they improved over time.
References
Bell, S., & Morse, S. (2008). Sustainability indicators: Measuring the immeasurable? London:
Earthscan.
Boutaud, A. (2004). Le développement durable: penser le changement ou changer le pansement?
Resource document. University of Jean Monnet. Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://tel.
archivesouvertes.fr/docs/00/78/11/87/PDF/2005_these_A_Boutaud.pdf
Canadian Federation of Municipalities. (2007). Vers une politique de développement durable des
municipalités. Québec: Fédération québécoise des municipalités.
City of Montréal. (2010). Le plan de développement durable de la collectivité montréalaise
2010–2015. Resource document. City of Montréal. Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://ville.
montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/pes_publications_fr/publications/plan_2010_2015.pdf
Connelly, S. (2007). Mapping sustainable development as a contested concept. Local Environment,
12(3), 259–278.
Cruz, N. F. D., & Marques, R. C. (2014). Scorecards for sustainable local governments. Cities, 39,
165–170.
Dora Costa, H. B. & Lleras-Muney, A. (2013). Trends in health, education and income In the
United States, 1820–2000. Resource document. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://www.nber.org/papers/w19162
Economist Intelligence Unit. (2012). Hot spots: Benchmarking global city competitiveness.
London: The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited.
Eichholtz, P., Kok, N., & Quigley, J. M. (2013). The economics of green building. Review of
Economics and Statistics, 95(1), 50–63.
10 The Urban Sustainability Indicators in Québec
201