Beyond GDP
Measuring progress, wealth and wellbeing
In this issue – March 2017
· Quote
· In brief
· Agenda
In the spotlight
Identifying indicators of progress for cities and sustainablle urban development. More than half of the world’s population and three quarters of Europeans live in an urban area. Cities are nuclei for socio-economic and cultural activity, but they also present acute risks to society, from poverty and social exclusion, to excessive air pollution and flooding. Therefore, cities provide an important scale of analysis, presenting both challenges and opportunities for sustainable development.Read more…
Interview
Dr Robert Ndugwa describes the UN’s work on city data and the New Urban Agenda Dr. Robert Ndugwa is Head of the Global Urban Observatory (GUO) Unit at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)…. “Our function is to lead the global monitoring of the urban aspects of the SDGs, as well as the objectives of the New Urban Agenda, and other UN initiatives linked to cities.”Read more…
Carolien Gehrels explains the Sustainable Cities Index and its applications “As European Cities Director, I work with Arcadis’ clients to improve the quality of life in cities. We combine local leadership with global expertise. For example, if a city has pressure on its mobility system, we try to find solutions to make mobility smarter and more sustainable. My role is to connect clients with the right specialists, and one approach is through city-to-city learning.”Read more…
Ramon Canal Oliveras talks about the use of city data and urban indicators in the city of Barcelona Ramon Canal Oliveras is the Director of the Technical Programming Cabinet of Barcelona City Council…… “My role is to direct the Technical Programming Cabinet. It gathers municipal statistics, carries out public surveys on a variety of topics and elaborates studies on socio-economic aspects as well as on the performance of Barcelona City Council.”Read more…
Quote
“Many urban policies are formulated without access to the right data. Without knowledge of the drivers of their development, cities face the risk to find themselves in unintended destinations”.
Eduardo López Moreno, Director of Research and Capacity Development at UNHABITAT