Title: A review of urban sustainability criteria under global warming stress

Authors: Dimitris Papaioannou; Antonis Gakis; Nikolaos T. Athanassoulis; Anastasios Rigos; Alexandra A. Mamali

Addresses: Department of Social and Political Science, Panteion University, Athens, Greece ' Department of Social and Political Science, Panteion University, Athens, Greece ' Department of Social and Political Science, Panteion University, Athens, Greece ' Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece ' Cass Business School, City University, London, UK

Abstract: Due to high energy requirements, cities are major contributors to climate change affecting global warming and quality of life. Environmental changes, accounting for changes in quality of life and reducing thermal degradation by moving towards more sustainable energy sources, are needed. A comprehensive system of environmental indicators, as an effective tool to reduce climate change impacts and to increase cities' sustainability approaches, is presented. The proposed system constitutes a cohesive set of indicators intergrading spatial and communication factors, expressed as connectivity, completion, cohesion, etc. and process modifications emphasising dematerialisation, energy type and savings. It incorporates environmental impact and state level response indicators into 'a cause and effect' meta model, as the OECD DIPSIR one. A logic decision scheme connects response indicators and activities, so that the model becomes a tool for self-knowledge, more efficiency and better target orientation by city authorities with respect to sustainable city practices.

Keywords: urban sustainability indicators; urban environmental indicators; sustainability policy; urban compacity; urban complexity; urban completeness; urban cohesion; urban communication; urban dematerialisation; urban carbonisation; response impact index; urban carbon succession; urban carbon retention; sustainable development; global warming; cities; climate change; environmental impact; state level response; metamodelling; urban design; urban planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2015.069405

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2015 Vol.16 No.1, pp.17 - 45

Received: 06 Aug 2013
Accepted: 21 Nov 2014
Published online: 14 May 2015 *

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