A multi-perspective framework for assessing urban well-being, development, and sustainability

As urbanization continues globally, assessing the state of development, well-being, and sustainability of cities and towns is critical. Most previous studies have predominantly relied on a single assessment system, often aligned with a specific perspective. This paper presents a study aimed at advancing a multi-criteria framework for assessing urban settlement performance. The proposed framework brings together diverse perspectives, emphasizing various assumptions about what should be considered positive or negative for different aspects of urban development, well-being, and sustainability. The analysis initially explores the structure and content of this proposed assessment framework, adapting existing leading international approaches to local urban scales. Three themes are advanced, each emphasizing a somewhat different perspective: (a) the conventional approach, which prioritizes socio-economic factors; (b) an integrated approach that quantifies the quality of life and well-being, emphasizing the need for social, economic, and environmental indicators; and (c) a socio-environmental perspective, employing a ‘strong sustainability’ approach within the context of planetary boundaries. Here we examine the Israeli urban sector by analyzing 89 urban settlements of varying characteristics, including size, economic status, social and cultural-religious attributes, and geographical location aggregated into six clusters. Our analysis reveals a range of scores between and within each theme of the analyzed settlements and aggregated clusters. As expected, high socioeconomic towns and cities are receiving the highest scores based on the conventional theme and low income, and specifically minority towns the lowest. But within this theme, a range of scores are presented and no single settlement receives a perfect score. Embracing the integrated theme and using the socio-environmental theme results are changes, and leading settlements by one theme may rank lower by another. This work provides a unique perspective on development and may signal alternative directions for progress.