Global City Indicators

The Current Status of City Indicators - Discussion Paper (72 page pdf, World Bank, Dec. 8, 2006)

Also discussed here: Global City Indicators Facility (University of Toronto)

And here: How Cities Compare (John Lorinc, Leading Edge, University of Toronto, Winter 2011)

The World Bank discussion paper reviewed today describes the development of an indicator data base in 2008 for cities of the world which can be used to monitor progress on such as the Millennium Goals. The data base behind this program is contained at the Global City Indicators Program at the University of Toronto in Canada. The need for this is underscored by the lessons learned along the way- that “Cities are interested in learning from other cities”, “Ranking systems provide only limited and short-term value” and “A global program with standard indicators could help take the politics out of indicator selection”.



Key Quotes:

“The Global City Indicators Program provides an established set of city indicators with a globally standardized methodology that allows for global comparability of city performance and knowledge sharing”

“The Program is structured around 22 “themes” that measure a range of city services and quality of life factors:

• QUALITY OF LIFE: Civic Engagement, Culture, Economy, Environment,Shelter, Social Equity, Subjective, Well-Being,Technology And Innovation
• CITY SERVICES: Education,Energy, Recreation, Fire Emergency, Response, Governance, Health, Social Services, Solid Waste, Transportation, Urban Planning, Waste Water, Water”

“By 2020, 4.1 billion people (55 percent of the world’s population) will live in urban areas.. Almost 95 percent of the world’s population increase will occur in developing countries. By 2015, 61 of the largest urban areas in the world will be in Asia, 14 in North America, and 12 in Latin America and Africa”

“The goal of the World Bank’s City Indicators project is to: Develop an integrated approach for measuring and monitoring city performance globally”

“Experts who work with numbers, evaluating and analyzing them on a daily basis frequently express the collection of data and its interpretation as a progression in a pyramid or triangle“

“A number of indicator programs were established to monitor progress toward worldwide initiatives and goals such as the Millennium Development Goals, Habitat Agenda, and Local Agenda 21. These three initiatives established goals and targets for the world’s cities and countries to meet within specified timeframes”

“The Millennium Development Goals are a set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women”

“different-sized cities often specialize – in pharmaceuticals or post-secondary education, for example – or act as a transportation hub or financial centre. At the same time, growing urbanization in developing nations is exacerbating problems of poverty, congestion and pollution.”

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