An Urban Sustainability Index: Multidimensional Approaches to Assess SDGs Progress

This chapter introduces a multidimensional indicator designed to assess urban sustainability, with a particular focus on progress toward the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The indicator combines environmental, infrastructural, and social variables, including dimensions such as air quality, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, waste management, and the availability of public services. The research focuses specifically on Italian cities, analyzing data collected at the municipal level. These data are normalized and aggregated using empirically and theoretically based weighting methods to provide a comparative framework of city performance. The analysis includes a comparison of cities across specific dimensions, offering insights into their relative strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the chapter explores how the indicator’s results are linked to the SDGs, identifying both challenges and opportunities for advancing urban sustainability. Through an innovative and replicable approach, this work offers practical tools for policymakers and researchers, contributing to the global debate on urban resilience and sustainability.