What makes a city sustainable? Is it a focus on traditional, “green” sustainability, economic strength or how liveable the city is for people?
Global sustainability heavyweight Arcadis believes it is a mix of all three.
Arcadis’ latest Sustainable Cities Index, which ranks 100 of the world’s leading cities on three pillars of sustainability: people, planet and profit, found that there are some significant variances across the Asia Pacific region.
Australian cities all scored middle of the road on the index, with Melbourne not making the top 50.
While not a cause for alarm, these rankings reinforce that Australian cities must improve to compete on the global stage.
In comparison, Asia’s two leading financial centres Hong Kong and Singapore made it into the top 10, with Singapore ranked number 1 globally in the profit sub-index.
While vastly different in terms of culture, economies and politics, a key take away across the region was the importance of integrated, efficient and smart infrastructure.
Hong Kong has long been famous for its world-class infrastructure, but as one of the planet’s most densely populated cities, it faces unique challenges in providing an efficient transportation system to meet the needs of its 7.4 million citizens.
This article was originally published by The Urban Developer. Click here to read entire article.
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