City Index (GPCI). Measurement of sustainability in megacities is needed before we
aim to make them sustainable. Without the information on the current sustainability
conditions, we will not be able to control or manage cities. In Chap. 9, Mori develops
City Sustainability Index (CSI) with a 3D visualized model. He defines a sustainable
city as a city that maximizes the total net benefits enjoyed by residents with relevant
constraints on conditions of negative environmental impacts and socioeconomic
equity kept. Thus, it is composed of two distinct lines of indicators: constraint
indicators and maximization indicators. The former judges whether a city satisfies
the constraints and the latter assesses the level of the total net benefits produced in a
city. The concept of the sustainable city and the method of evaluating city
sustainability have originality. In Chap. 10, Tanguay and Rajaonson address the
interpretation of urban sustainability indicators and three performance criteria for
best-performing cities in terms of sustainability. These criteria are: first, they display
a relatively higher score based on the indicators; second, their environmental
performance and socioeconomic performance are high and non-compensatory; and
third, they must improve over time. He illustrates the relevance of these criteria using
comparative analyses of the performance of Quebec’s cities. In Chap. 11, Ichikawa
and Sasaki introduce the Global Power City Index (GPCI), which ranks the “comprehensive power” of the 40 major cities of the world. Cities are evaluated in terms
of 70 indicators, grouped into six urban functions, such as economy, research and
development, cultural interaction, liveability, environment, and accessibility. They
mention that multilevel indices are useful for understanding the global patterns of
sustainability.
References
Bagan, H., & Yamagata, Y. (2012). Landsat analysis of urban growth: How Tokyo became the
world’s largest megacity during the last 40 years. Remote Sensing of Environment, 127,
210–222.
Baumgärtner, S., & Quaas, M. (2010). What is sustainability economics? Ecological Economics, 69
(3), 445–450.
Bithas, K. P., & Christofakis, M. (2006). Environmentally sustainable cities. Critical review and
operational conditions. Sustainable Development, 14(3), 177–189.
Bosker, M., Brakman, S., Garretsen, H., & Schramm, M. (2008). A century of shocks: The
evolution of the German city size distribution 1925–1999. Regional Science and Urban
Economics, 38, 330–347.
Camagni, R., Capello, R., & Nijkamp, P. (1998). Towards sustainable city policy: An economy–
environment technology nexus. Ecological Economics, 24, 103–118.
D’Alessio, S. J., & Stolzenberg, L. (2010). Do cities influence co-offending? Journal of Criminal
Justice, 38(4), 711–719.
Daily, G. C., & Ehrlich, P. R. (1992). Population, sustainability, and Earth’s carrying capacity.
Bioscience, 42(10), 761–771.
Dodman, D. (2009). Blaming cities for climate change? An analysis of urban greenhouse gas
emissions inventories. Environment and Urbanization, 21(1), 185–201.
1 Megacities as a Global Center of Sustainability Issues: Overview of the Book
11
aim to make them sustainable. Without the information on the current sustainability
conditions, we will not be able to control or manage cities. In Chap. 9, Mori develops
City Sustainability Index (CSI) with a 3D visualized model. He defines a sustainable
city as a city that maximizes the total net benefits enjoyed by residents with relevant
constraints on conditions of negative environmental impacts and socioeconomic
equity kept. Thus, it is composed of two distinct lines of indicators: constraint
indicators and maximization indicators. The former judges whether a city satisfies
the constraints and the latter assesses the level of the total net benefits produced in a
city. The concept of the sustainable city and the method of evaluating city
sustainability have originality. In Chap. 10, Tanguay and Rajaonson address the
interpretation of urban sustainability indicators and three performance criteria for
best-performing cities in terms of sustainability. These criteria are: first, they display
a relatively higher score based on the indicators; second, their environmental
performance and socioeconomic performance are high and non-compensatory; and
third, they must improve over time. He illustrates the relevance of these criteria using
comparative analyses of the performance of Quebec’s cities. In Chap. 11, Ichikawa
and Sasaki introduce the Global Power City Index (GPCI), which ranks the “comprehensive power” of the 40 major cities of the world. Cities are evaluated in terms
of 70 indicators, grouped into six urban functions, such as economy, research and
development, cultural interaction, liveability, environment, and accessibility. They
mention that multilevel indices are useful for understanding the global patterns of
sustainability.
References
Bagan, H., & Yamagata, Y. (2012). Landsat analysis of urban growth: How Tokyo became the
world’s largest megacity during the last 40 years. Remote Sensing of Environment, 127,
210–222.
Baumgärtner, S., & Quaas, M. (2010). What is sustainability economics? Ecological Economics, 69
(3), 445–450.
Bithas, K. P., & Christofakis, M. (2006). Environmentally sustainable cities. Critical review and
operational conditions. Sustainable Development, 14(3), 177–189.
Bosker, M., Brakman, S., Garretsen, H., & Schramm, M. (2008). A century of shocks: The
evolution of the German city size distribution 1925–1999. Regional Science and Urban
Economics, 38, 330–347.
Camagni, R., Capello, R., & Nijkamp, P. (1998). Towards sustainable city policy: An economy–
environment technology nexus. Ecological Economics, 24, 103–118.
D’Alessio, S. J., & Stolzenberg, L. (2010). Do cities influence co-offending? Journal of Criminal
Justice, 38(4), 711–719.
Daily, G. C., & Ehrlich, P. R. (1992). Population, sustainability, and Earth’s carrying capacity.
Bioscience, 42(10), 761–771.
Dodman, D. (2009). Blaming cities for climate change? An analysis of urban greenhouse gas
emissions inventories. Environment and Urbanization, 21(1), 185–201.
1 Megacities as a Global Center of Sustainability Issues: Overview of the Book
11