Although many of the GPCI cities are what may be called “megacities” in a broad
sense, the Index’s analyses are made in terms of “administrative district” (and not of
the metropolitan area). Some indicators represent a smaller or larger region as a unit
of analysis. For example, the city of Tokyo is mostly analyzed in terms of the special
23 wards forming the core region of the Tokyo metropolis, while the indicator of Top
Universities is studied in terms of the larger metropolitan area.
The GPCI measurement of cities revolves around six categories that represent
principal urban functions: Economy, Research and Development, Cultural Interaction, Livability, and Accessibility. Under these “functions” are 3–5 “indicator
groups” that are in turn constituted by several “indicators.” As such, the GPCI
employs 70 indicators, 26 indicator groups, and 6 functions to produce functionspecific rankings, which are combined to create the “comprehensive ranking.”
Each of the 70 indicators is the most basic element of the GPCI’s analysis,
expressed in an indexed number (0–100) generated by the collected data. These
data are collected from statistics and surveys published by governments and public
and private organizations, as well as from original surveys conducted by the IUSMMF.
4 The GPCI prioritizes the official statistics and clearly sourced materials
which represent the latest available data. When it is difficult to acquire data specific
to the city itself, the data of larger administrative units (state, prefecture, country,
etc.) to which the city belongs are used. The desired data are then calculated by
dividing the acquired data by figures such as number of employees, for proportional
division, thereby estimating data for the city. Eleven of the 40 indicators, such as
Ease of Securing Human Resources, Readiness for Accepting Foreign Researchers,
Environment of Creative Activities, etc., are based on the scores in the two original
surveys conducted by the IUS-MMF. These surveys include a Web-based questionnaire that aims at those living and/or working in a target city and an expertise
partners questionnaire, aimed at those who have experience living in and/or working
in more than one of the 40 target cities.
The collected data are converted into an indicator value of between 0 and 100. In
other words, the largest number in the original data is set to 100 and the smallest
number to 0, with the rest of the numbers converted to values in between. However,
since a higher value for some indicators (such as those related to pollution and risk)
necessarily means a lower evaluation, the value assignment scale was flipped for
those indicators (i.e., the best performance is 0 and the worst is 100). In addition,
those indicators based on the original questionnaires conducted by the IUS-MMF are
given a proportional distribution of between 0 and 50 to limit their impact on the
overall score as bias can affect the respondents’ answers. We have observed that in
some cities scores tend to be consistently more optimistic and in other cities scores
tend to be more pessimistic.
4 Among the 70 indicators, 59 are based on public surveys and statistics and 11 are based on the
original surveys.
11 Sustainability and Urban Functions from the Perspective of the Global Power City. . .
207
sense, the Index’s analyses are made in terms of “administrative district” (and not of
the metropolitan area). Some indicators represent a smaller or larger region as a unit
of analysis. For example, the city of Tokyo is mostly analyzed in terms of the special
23 wards forming the core region of the Tokyo metropolis, while the indicator of Top
Universities is studied in terms of the larger metropolitan area.
The GPCI measurement of cities revolves around six categories that represent
principal urban functions: Economy, Research and Development, Cultural Interaction, Livability, and Accessibility. Under these “functions” are 3–5 “indicator
groups” that are in turn constituted by several “indicators.” As such, the GPCI
employs 70 indicators, 26 indicator groups, and 6 functions to produce functionspecific rankings, which are combined to create the “comprehensive ranking.”
Each of the 70 indicators is the most basic element of the GPCI’s analysis,
expressed in an indexed number (0–100) generated by the collected data. These
data are collected from statistics and surveys published by governments and public
and private organizations, as well as from original surveys conducted by the IUSMMF.
4 The GPCI prioritizes the official statistics and clearly sourced materials
which represent the latest available data. When it is difficult to acquire data specific
to the city itself, the data of larger administrative units (state, prefecture, country,
etc.) to which the city belongs are used. The desired data are then calculated by
dividing the acquired data by figures such as number of employees, for proportional
division, thereby estimating data for the city. Eleven of the 40 indicators, such as
Ease of Securing Human Resources, Readiness for Accepting Foreign Researchers,
Environment of Creative Activities, etc., are based on the scores in the two original
surveys conducted by the IUS-MMF. These surveys include a Web-based questionnaire that aims at those living and/or working in a target city and an expertise
partners questionnaire, aimed at those who have experience living in and/or working
in more than one of the 40 target cities.
The collected data are converted into an indicator value of between 0 and 100. In
other words, the largest number in the original data is set to 100 and the smallest
number to 0, with the rest of the numbers converted to values in between. However,
since a higher value for some indicators (such as those related to pollution and risk)
necessarily means a lower evaluation, the value assignment scale was flipped for
those indicators (i.e., the best performance is 0 and the worst is 100). In addition,
those indicators based on the original questionnaires conducted by the IUS-MMF are
given a proportional distribution of between 0 and 50 to limit their impact on the
overall score as bias can affect the respondents’ answers. We have observed that in
some cities scores tend to be consistently more optimistic and in other cities scores
tend to be more pessimistic.
4 Among the 70 indicators, 59 are based on public surveys and statistics and 11 are based on the
original surveys.
11 Sustainability and Urban Functions from the Perspective of the Global Power City. . .
207