Assessing the state of environmental quality in cities - A multi-component urban performance (EMCUP) index.
Urban environmental quality indices can provide policy makers and the public with valuable information. However, common assessment tools have several shortcomings: most indices do leave out some important components of the state of urban environmental quality; they use a relative assessment in which urban environmental performance is evaluated relative to other cities, not against established environmental benchmarks; and only a few assessment tools compare urban performance to environmental quality standards. This paper presents a new multi component urban performance (EMCUP) index aiming to tackle those shortcomings. It analyses the overall state of urban environmental quality by using a list of indicators to evaluate key urban environmental quality topics such as air, water, open space, sanitation and solid waste. It presents an absolute score calculated in relation to both the standard and desired optimum levels. The use of the index is demonstrated by three Israeli cities.
Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: zeevst@bgu.ac.il.
Zeev
Z
Stossel
Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Meidad
M
Kissinger
Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Avinoam
A
Meir
D000388:Air / Q000032:analysis / Q000592:standards*; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D007557:Israel; D012499:Sanitation / Q000592:standards*; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D014507:Urbanization; D060753:Water Quality / Q000592:standards*
D062611:Solid Waste
Environmental index; Optimum thresholds; Standards; Urban environmental quality