London identified as most balanced city in Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2018
London tops the 2018-edition of the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index, ranking second in both People and Profit as well as ranking 11th in the Planet sub-index. London is one of a few high performing balanced cities in the Index with similar scores across the three pillars. Many renowned cities score high on their economic performance but lag behind on their social and environmental performances. Consultancy firm Arcadis published its 2018-edition of the index on 30 October.
Top 15 of world's most sustainable cities according to the Arcadis index 2018.
Top ten
European cities dominate the top of the overall Index, occupying eight of the top ten spots, with Singapore and Hong Kong complementing the top ten as Asian representatives.
The index ranks 100 global cities on three pillars of sustainability: People (social), Planet (environment) and Profit (economic). The three pillars are closely aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
More in-depth understanding
‘We seek to understand in more depth how different cities enable different citizen groups to meet their particular needs’, writes Global Cities Director John Batten at Arcadis in the preface of this year’s report.
‘It is important to look at how cities maintain services at current levels of performance as they evolve’, Batten continues, ‘specifically if they use innovation to ensure that currently recognized needs and wants are met.
Batten also addresses the importance for cities to allocate new resources to meet changing citizen requirements.
John Batten of Arcadis closely follows the innovations of cities to meet the needs and wants of their citizens.
Cities at risk
Across the Index, many cities are at risk to natural catastrophes. Even top 10 cities like Munich have a high exposure to flood risk.
A natural disaster monitoring indicator has been added to assess how early warning technology is being used to mitigate these risks.
The indicator highlights that the 10 cities with the greatest risk exposure don't have early warning systems. Interestingly, some cities with the lowest risk profile including Calgary and Ottawa, have highly developed warning systems, demonstrating the extent to which some cities are prepared to invest in their citizen’s longterm quality of life.
Successful path
According to the report, cities need to focus on well planned long-term resilience, even if they are subject to short-term changes and trends. The successful path to long-term resilience requires the support and involvement of citizens, while at the same time, cities can also learn from each other.
Download the report from the special web page: Sustainable Cities Index 2018.
This news item was originally published on the website of Arcadis.
(top photo: Wikimedia Commons)
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● Expertise: Resilient cities
More information
Arcadis
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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www.arcadis.com