A conceptual framework to assess sustainability in urban ecological systems

Bibliographic Data

ID19499615
AuthorsMiguel Ángel Olalla-Tárraga, Miguel Á Olalla‐Tárraga (0000-0001-5346-4528, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume13
Issue1
Pages1-15
Publication date2006-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1350-4509 • E-ISSN: 1745-2627
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13504500609469657
OpenAlexW1966004688
LanguageEN
Citations received20

Contemporary approaches in urban ecology should take into account interactions and feedbacks between socio-ecological dimensions. Sustainability indicators are key tools to assess such integration, but initiatives are diverse and there is no agreed framework for the assessment of such interactions and feedbacks. Despite this formidable challenge, several attempts have been made to reach out beyond the traditional subject areas of environment, economy and society in frameworks for indicators of sustainable development. While efforts to develop such a methodology have been made from different scales and levels of analyses, as we descend to the local scale, initiatives are multiplied. There is a need to channel the diversity of these various initiatives and standardize some concepts and methods. In this paper I deal with the pros and cons of the most commonly applied conceptual frameworks, looking for a method able to optimize the main purposes of sustainable development indicators. Starting from this foundation, I build a new proposal combining different methods previously applied in some research fields. A single Hierarchical Framework, developed to assess sustainable forest management is represented graphically through a visual model presented in the Johannesburg Summit of 2002, the Dashboard of Sustainability. An appraisal of the local contribution to global sustainability is obtained by introducing the Ecological Footprint into the methodological procedure. Keywords: SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORSURBAN SYSTEMSDASHBOARD OF SUSTAINABILITYHIERARCHICAL FRAMEWORKECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTAGGREGATED INDICES

Business · Conceptual framework · Ecological footprint · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Management science · Process management · Sociology · Sustainability · Sustainable development · Computer Science · Engineering · Environmental Science · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Sustainable Building Design and Assessment · Urban Green Space and Health · Ecology

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