IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v16y2008i5p329-340.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bridging the gaps between theory and practice: a service niche approach to urban sustainability indicators

Author

Listed:
  • James Keirstead

    (Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College London, London, UK)

  • Matt Leach

    (Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK)

Abstract

Urban sustainability indicators play an important role in helping policy-makers ensure the continued success of their cities. However, a review of current practice suggests that priority is often given to the measurability and policy relevance of these metrics. Their analytical validity - i.e. their ability to act as meaningful representations of the urban system and thus inform appropriate policy responses - is less certain. An examination of London's USIs confirms this gap between theory and practice and identifies vague definitions of urban sustainability as part of the problem. A 'service niche' approach to indicator selection is therefore outlined, using pervasive goal-oriented urban services such as energy or water systems to guide the selection of policy-relevant interconnected metrics. Strategies for expanding such niches to wider assessments of urban sustainability are also discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • James Keirstead & Matt Leach, 2008. "Bridging the gaps between theory and practice: a service niche approach to urban sustainability indicators," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(5), pages 329-340.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:16:y:2008:i:5:p:329-340
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.349
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/sd.349
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.349?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Werner Hediger, 1997. "Ecological Economics Of Sustainable Development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 5(3), pages 101-109.
    2. Bjørn Ludwig, 1997. "The concept of technology assessment - an entire process to sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 5(3), pages 111-117.
    3. Camagni, Roberto & Capello, Roberta & Nijkamp, Peter, 1998. "Towards sustainable city policy: an economy-environment technology nexus," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 103-118, January.
    4. Ornetzeder, Michael & Rohracher, Harald, 2006. "User-led innovations and participation processes: lessons from sustainable energy technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 138-150, January.
    5. Ali Bagheri & Peder Hjorth, 2007. "Planning for sustainable development: a paradigm shift towards a process-based approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 83-96.
    6. Tomi J. Kallio & Piia Nordberg & Ari Ahonen, 2007. "'Rationalizing sustainable development' - a critical treatise," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 41-51.
    7. Hueting, Roefie & Reijnders, Lucas, 2004. "Broad sustainability contra sustainability: the proper construction of sustainability indicators," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3-4), pages 249-260, October.
    8. Gyo-Eon Shim & Sung-Mo Rhee & Kun-Hyuck Ahn & Sung-Bong Chung, 2006. "The relationship between the characteristics of transportation energy consumption and urban form," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 40(2), pages 351-367, June.
    9. Andrew D. Basiago, 1995. "Methods of defining 'sustainability'," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 3(3), pages 109-119.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eleanor Chapman & Viktor Bukovszki & Martina van Lierop & Silvia Tomasi & Stephan Pauleit, 2024. "Towards More Equitable Urban Greening: A Framework for Monitoring and Evaluating Co-Governance," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9.
    2. Dandan Liu & Anmin Huang & Dewei Yang & Jianyi Lin & Jiahui Liu, 2021. "Niche-Driven Socio-Environmental Linkages and Regional Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    3. Brennan Lowery & John Dagevos & Ratana Chuenpagdee & Kelly Vodden, 2020. "Storytelling for sustainable development in rural communities: An alternative approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1813-1826, November.
    4. Purvis, Ben & Genovese, Andrea, 2023. "Better or different? A reflection on the suitability of indicator methods for a just transition to a circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    5. Roland Zinkernagel & James Evans & Lena Neij, 2018. "Applying the SDGs to Cities: Business as Usual or a New Dawn?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Leslie Gillespie‐Marthaler & Katherine Nelson & Hiba Baroud & Mark Abkowitz, 2019. "Selecting Indicators for Assessing Community Sustainable Resilience," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(11), pages 2479-2498, November.
    7. Picheng Lee & Gary Kleinman & Chu‐hua Kuei, 2020. "Using text analytics to apprehend urban sustainability development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 897-921, July.
    8. G. Venkatesh, 2014. "A critique of the European Green City Index," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(3), pages 317-328, March.
    9. Małgorzata Stec & Mariola Grzebyk, 2018. "The implementation of the Strategy Europe 2020 objectives in European Union countries: the concept analysis and statistical evaluation," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 119-133, January.
    10. Pasimeni, Maria Rita & Petrosillo, Irene & Aretano, Roberta & Semeraro, Teodoro & De Marco, Antonella & Zaccarelli, Nicola & Zurlini, Giovanni, 2014. "Scales, strategies and actions for effective energy planning: A review," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 165-174.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Du, Limin & Hanley, Aoife & Wei, Chu, 2015. "Estimating the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve of CO2 Emissions in China: Provincial Panel Data Analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 217-229.
    2. Daniela Smiraglia & Luca Salvati & Gianluca Egidi & Rosanna Salvia & Antonio Giménez-Morera & Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, 2021. "Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, January.
    3. Tassilo Herrschel, 2013. "Competitiveness AND Sustainability: Can ‘Smart City Regionalism’ Square the Circle?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(11), pages 2332-2348, August.
    4. Malin Song & Nan Wu & Kaiya Wu, 2014. "Energy Consumption and Energy Efficiency of the Transportation Sector in Shanghai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Finco, Adele & Nijkamp, Peter, 1999. "Planning for sustainable spatial development : principles and application," Serie Research Memoranda 0030, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    6. Angela Connelly & Jeremy Carter & John Handley & Stephen Hincks, 2018. "Enhancing the Practical Utility of Risk Assessments in Climate Change Adaptation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-12, May.
    7. Van Passel, Steven, 2008. "Assessing farm sustainability with value oriented methods," 2008 International Congress, August 26-29, 2008, Ghent, Belgium 44141, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Hyysalo, Sampsa & Juntunen, Jouni K. & Martiskainen, Mari, 2018. "Energy Internet forums as acceleration phase transition intermediaries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 872-885.
    9. Annukka Berg, 2011. "Not Roadmaps but Toolboxes: Analysing Pioneering National Programmes for Sustainable Consumption and Production," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 9-23, March.
    10. Abbas Hassan & Hyowon Lee, 2015. "The paradox of the sustainable city: definitions and examples," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 1267-1285, December.
    11. Galvin, Ray & Sunikka-Blank, Minna, 2014. "The UK homeowner-retrofitter as an innovator in a socio-technical system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 655-662.
    12. Hezri, Adnan A. & Dovers, Stephen R., 2006. "Sustainability indicators, policy and governance: Issues for ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 86-99, November.
    13. Ronald R. Kumar & Peter J. Stauvermann, 2024. "Environmental Injustice: The Effects of Environmental Taxes on Income Distribution in an Oligopolistic General Equilibrium Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-23, May.
    14. Roberta Capello & Roberto Camagni, 2000. "Beyond Optimal City Size: An Evaluation of Alternative Urban Growth Patterns," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 37(9), pages 1479-1496, August.
    15. Kostas P. Bithas & M. Christofakis, 2006. "Environmentally sustainable cities. Critical review and operational conditions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(3), pages 177-189.
    16. Alexander Melnik & Irina Naoumova & Kirill Ermolaev & Jerome Katrichis, 2021. "Driving Innovation through Energy Efficiency: A Russian Regional Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, April.
    17. Van Passel, Steven & Nevens, Frank & Mathijs, Erik & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2007. "Measuring farm sustainability and explaining differences in sustainable efficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 149-161, April.
    18. De Giovanni, Pietro & Esposito Vinzi, Vincenzo, 2012. "Covariance versus component-based estimations of performance in green supply chain management," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 907-916.
    19. Guangdong Wu & Guofeng Qiang & Jian Zuo & Xianbo Zhao & Ruidong Chang, 2018. "What are the Key Indicators of Mega Sustainable Construction Projects? —A Stakeholder-Network Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
    20. Michalena, Evanthie & Angeon, Valrie, 2009. "Local challenges in the promotion of renewable energy sources: The case of Crete," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 2018-2026, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:16:y:2008:i:5:p:329-340. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.