In addition to the ecological footprint, what are other quantitative methods that can show levels of sustainability?
Models or quantitative methods to assess and measure environmental sustainability of urban ecosystems are a impresive methods to value the integral impact of urban ecosystems, from environmental items but with social, legal and economic references, too.....from data to explain the relations-causes among them.
In my research Purpose of sustainability assessment is determine the level of sustainability according to ecological indicators. I want to know what are methods to assess the sustainability with emphasis on ecological indicators such as biodiversity, air quality, water resources and … more suitable.
The ultimate goal is to have an idea about dynamics in urban-related health status, reproduction, survival. These can be measured or estimated at the individual/population level. The next step is to explain why they express dynamics. E.g. urban-related health status, reproduction, survival might be linked to dynamics in ressources (e.g. water or food availability), presence of other organisms, physical factors, immigration, emigration, etc....
Sustainability refers to five main capitals: natural capital, social capital, manufactured capital, financial capital, and human capital. Urban sustainability, but sustainability in general, should refer to those forms of capital. It hypothesizes that a balance among these five types of capital is necessary to satisfy human needs and generate individual and community well-being (Costanza et al., 1997).
Natural Capital is any stock or flow of energy and material that produces goods and services. It includes:
Resources - renewable and non-renewable materials
Sinks - that absorb, neutralise or recycle wastes
Processes - such as climate regulation. Natural capital is the basis not only of production but of life itself!
Human Capital consists of people's health, knowledge, skills and motivation. All these things are needed for productive work. Enhancing human capital through education and training is central to a flourishing economy.
Social Capital concerns the institutions that help us maintain and develop human capital in partnership with others; e.g. families, communities, businesses, trade unions, schools, and voluntary organisations.
Manufactured Capital comprises material goods or fixed assets which contribute to the production process rather than being the output itself – e.g. tools, machines and buildings.
Financial Capital plays an important role in our economy, enabling the other types of Capital to be owned and traded. But unlike the other types, it has no real value itself but is representative of natural, human, social or manufactured capital; e.g. shares, bonds or banknotes.
Any kind of capital has its own indicators and indices. The sustainability assessment should find out the best balance among the five capitals in a specific context.
The BIMBY indicator framework may be a little specifically oriented towards yards, gardens (applicable to parks), but perhaps it can be helpful nonetheless. I attached our recent paper for you.
Sustainability as a concept really depends on who is asking the sustainability question. Real estate developers will have a very different measure of stability than ecologists. Suggest strongly you assess the role sustainability has to play in your research as a criterion for judgement or a basis of quantitative evaluation and work backwards from there, knowing all the while that it will have limits outside of which it can and probably shall be contradicted or disregarded.
May i please add that at this period in time it would be a serious and fundamental mistake for anyone involved in urban research to assume there is one or a limited number of definitions of sustainability, and that the debate on sustainable urban systems is based on apodictic principles that are common to and agreed upon in all understandings of how sustainability is defined. it would be better to resort to cost benefit analysis of modelled urban outcomes, or a universal system for measuring and accounting for ecological cost on a par with development cost in order to transcend the limitations that the debate now puts on the notion of sustainability itself.
Hello I would recommend you to go to science direct there is a brilliant review on methods for assessing environmental sustainability. The article is still in press. Once on the database just type methods for assessing sustainability it should come in one of the top articles in there.
Good luck!
George Emilov - What is the [first] author's name &/or journal of the review article you cite? It's not obvious (to me at least) from Science Direct. thanks!
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