Are larger cities more sustainable?: Lessons from integrated sustainability monitoring in 403 Dutch municipalities

Bastiaan Zoeteman; Hans Mommaas; John Dagevos

doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2015.08.003

Are larger cities more sustainable? Lessons from integrated sustainability monitoring in 403 Dutch municipalities

Bastiaan Zoeteman
, Hans Mommaas
, John Dagevos

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The challenges faced by municipalities in terms of integrated sustainability have until recently been difficult to study due to a lack of comparable data. This study discusses methods for conducting integrated sustainability assessments. One such method used by Telos, Tilburg University, has been further developed and used to benchmark local and regional sustainability development. In 2014, data for all 403 municipalities in the Netherlands on 90 indicators were retrieved, covering both economic, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions. The lessons learned are discussed, including the introduction of city typologies and the impact of the population size of municipalities on sustainability scores.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	57-72
Journal	Environmental Development
Volume	17
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2015.08.003
Publication status	Published - Jan 2016

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4 Quality Education
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Keywords

integrated sustainability monitoring
city typology and size
social, ecological and economic capital
urban development
city-region interactions
Netherlands

Access to Document

10.1016/j.envdev.2015.08.003

Cite this

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title = "Are larger cities more sustainable?: Lessons from integrated sustainability monitoring in 403 Dutch municipalities",

abstract = "The challenges faced by municipalities in terms of integrated sustainability have until recently been difficult to study due to a lack of comparable data. This study discusses methods for conducting integrated sustainability assessments. One such method used by Telos, Tilburg University, has been further developed and used to benchmark local and regional sustainability development. In 2014, data for all 403 municipalities in the Netherlands on 90 indicators were retrieved, covering both economic, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions. The lessons learned are discussed, including the introduction of city typologies and the impact of the population size of municipalities on sustainability scores. ",

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KW - social, ecological and economic capital

KW - urban development

KW - city-region interactions

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