Figure 4 : The Core of the Urban Monitoring Framework .
DOMAINS
SOCIETY
ECONOMY
ENVIRONMENT
CULTURE
GOVERNANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION
It resulted from a development exercise that drew on feedback from 26 experts from different international agencies ( such as UNEP ), not-for-profits and universities worldwide . The UMF needed to :
• Align with principles such as the capacity to be used by cities and towns with different capabilities and resources ;
• Be adaptable over time ; and
• Bring together objectives , targets and , where relevant , indicators from the UN SDGs , particularly SDG11 , which refers to urban settlements , the New Urban Agenda and other high-level , global measurement frameworks ; and
• It needed sensible , smart metrics that measured impacts , not inputs .
Despite the complexity of the agenda and the inputs to the project , at its core , it is a relatively simple framework ( Figure 4 ). It is a matrix of five domains ( society , economy , environment , culture and governance and implementation by four objectives ( safe and peaceful , inclusive , resilient , and sustainable ). At the intersection is an attribute requiring indicators for measurement . These include whether society is becoming safer or the economy more resilient . Each domain , objective , attribute and recommended indicator has background information and descriptions to clarify intentions .
Reflecting the adaptability of the UMF , subnational governments can choose to use just the basic matrix and identify unique indicators that measure specific policy priorities . For example , one city may conclude their priority for a safer society is reducing traffic fatalities . Another city may conclude it is infant mortality . Ultimately ,
SETTLEMENT OBJECTIVES Safe Inclusive Resilient Sustainable
Indicators for : Safer Society
Indicators for : Safer Economy
Indicators for : Safer Environment
Indicators for : Safer Culture
Indicators for : Safer Governance
Indicators for : Inclusive Society
Indicators for : Inclusive Economy
Indicators for : Inclusive Environment
Indicators for : Inclusive Culture
Indicators for : Inclusive Governance
Indicators for : Resilient Society
Indicators for : Resilient Economy
Indicators for : Resilient Environment
Indicators for : Resilient Culture
Indicators for : Resilient Governance
Indicators for : Sustainable Society
Indicators for : Sustainable Economy
Indicators for : Sustainable Environment
Indicators for : Sustainable Culture
Indicators for : Sustainable Governance
This is the core component of the UMF . Government entities can use the recommended indicators for each attribute or adapt it for a particular use , for example , by identifying a single indicator that best measures each attribute according to the priorities for a particular location .
the framework still guides users to focus on the impact they seek rather than the input they want .
The UN Statistical Commission endorsed the UMF in November 2021 , and UN- Habitat is now working to encourage local and regional governments to take it on as the entry point to the SDGs . While it does have resourcing implications , there are benefits to using the UMF , particularly in its early stages of rollout . These include :
• The opportunity to help UN-Habitat shape the format and use of the UMF
• The guidance that helps focus data collectors and analysts on useful metrics
• Recognition of participation in an SDG pathway , which may be a useful promotional tool for future investment
• It represents the start of a pathway towards the full Voluntary Local Reviews recommended by the UN for participating in the SDG program .
CONCLUSION According to Post Carbon Institute alumni Richard Heinberg , there are three factors we must address to put our economies on a more sustainable pathway : consumption , population , and efficiency . Almost all major efforts focus on the latter ( hence the growing interest in the circular economy ). Heinberg ’ s argument - and of his peers in environmental science - is that this is not sufficient . Efficiency gains through circular economy initiatives may be helpful , but they fail to address the causes of unsustainable trends : a consumption-driven rather than a wellbeing-driven economy coupled with global population growth . As Finnish scientist Vaden ( et al ., 2020 ) concluded in their meta-study , even with circular economy initiatives , there are no real-world examples of decoupling of material use with economic growth . That is , as consumption increases and the population grows , we are drawing on more and more of the natural environment .
Unfortunately , few national governments or major corporations can countenance efforts to address consumption or population growth . Local government , by contrast , with its community-level focus , can and does consider these challenges .
During the UMF development , in a late-night video call , one of the EGM participants , a Canada-based environmental scientist , shed tears describing the frustration of trying to convince policymakers to make serious efforts to address environmental , social and economic challenges . The UMF project benefited from this passion . The hope of UN-Habitat and the EGM participants is that it will make a modest but valuable contribution to our collective futures by revealing what is and is not truly helping us .
REFERENCES
EEB , 2019 , Decoupling Debunked : Evidence and Arguments Against Green Growth as a Sole Strategy for Sustainability , European Environmental Bureau , Stockholm
Global Footprint Network , 2018 , footprintnetwork . org , sourced October 2022 .
Heinberg , R ., 2021 , Power : Limits and Prospects for Human Survival , New Society Publishers , British Columbia
Jackson , Tim , 2015 , Prosperity Without Growth : Foundations for the Economic of Tomorrow , Routledge , London
Turner , G ., 2012 , “ On the Cusp of Global Collapse ?” in Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society , Vol . 21 , No . 2 , pp . 116-124
Vaden , T ., Lahde , V ., Majava ., A ., Jarvensivu , P ., Toivanen , T ., Hakala , E ., and Eronen , J . T ., “ Decoupling for Ecological Sustainability : A Categorisation and Review of Research Literature ”, in Environmental Science & Policy , Vol . 112 , pp236-244
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DR KEVIN JOHNSON In July 2020 , Kevin designed the Urban Monitoring Framework ( UMF ) for UN-Habitat . This is a monitoring tool for local and regional governments to track their progress toward the 2030 UN Sustainable
Development Goals . Kevin spoke about the UMF at UN-Habitat ’ s biennial World Urban Forum in Poland in July . He is currently assisting the Shanghai Municipal Government and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to pilot an adapted version of the UMF .
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