Toward Just and Intergenerationally Fair Cities: A Youth-Based Entropy–TOPSIS Assessment

The sustainability of cities is gaining importance in terms of preserving environmental integrity, social well-being, and economic resilience in the face of rapidly increasing urbanization and global ecological problems. Sustainability discussions are not limited to technical efficiency or economic growth; they can also encompass dimensions such as balanced resource use among current and future generations and social participation within the framework of intergenerational justice and equitable sustainability approaches. In this study, ten metropolitan cities in Türkiye (Muğla, Eskişehir, Balıkesir, Ankara, Mersin, İzmir, Kocaeli, Bursa, Istanbul, and Antalya) were evaluated using a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach combining Entropy-based weighting and TOPSIS ranking. The analysis is based on 19 indicators encompassing environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The novelty of the study is the participatory integration of the importance ratings given to these indicators by 49 young individuals aged 20–25 into the Entropy method. The results show that Muğla, İzmir, and Eskişehir rank high on indicators prioritized by young people, such as air quality, green space, and cultural access, while economically strong cities like Kocaeli lag behind in environmental and social dimensions. In this respect, the research offers an approach that incorporates young people's values into the assessment process and strengthens an intergenerational perspective.