Oral Presentation World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2026

Urban policy and spatial indicators for measuring ‘upstream’ determinants of healthy and sustainable cities beyond the SDGs (131214)

Melanie Lowe 1 , Carl Higgs 1 , Ester Cerin 2 , Billie Giles-Corti 1 , Geoff Boeing 3 , Deborah Salvo 4 , Jim Sallis 2 5 , Eugen Resendiz 6 , Jasper Schipperijn 7 , Shirley Liu 8 , Rossano Schifanella 9 , Deepti Adlakha 10 , Vuokko Heikinheimo 11 , Erica Hinckson 12
  1. Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  2. Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  3. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, US
  4. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, US
  5. University of California, San Diego, California, US
  6. Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico City, Mexico
  7. University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
  8. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
  9. University of Turin, Turin, Italy
  10. Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
  11. Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland
  12. Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

In the 21st century, city planning decisions have key roles in shaping population health. Indicators are needed to monitor progress towards healthy and sustainable cities. With the 2030 deadline fast approaching, it is timely to explore how to strengthen global indicator frameworks beyond the SDGs. This paper asks: what are the key considerations for measuring progress on urban health and sustainability, to better inform future decision-making? We critically review existing global urban indicators through a healthy built environment lens. We argue that city planners need a more comprehensive set of urban indicators that enables cities to benchmark and monitor policy development and implementation while offering standardised measurement for between-city comparisons. Indicators should assess the presence and quality of policies (i.e., the most ‘upstream’ health determinants) and urban design and transport interventions required to achieve the desired health and sustainability outcomes. These complement indicators of ‘downstream’ health risks such as physical inactivity, heat exposure and air pollution, and outcomes such as traffic injuries or non-communicable disease mortality. Indicator frameworks should bridge public health and environmental sustainability, by focusing on co-benefits of planetary healthy behaviours. Spatial indicators should be able to be spatially disaggregated and mapped to show within-city inequities, to help target interventions in the areas they are needed most. Creating and validating indicators is resource-intensive, so efforts should be made to use or adapt existing metrics, harnessing cross-sectoral partnerships. We outline the contribution of our Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities in expanding indicator capabilities. This global collaboration provides open access, evidence-based policy and spatial indicators that can be applied to cities worldwide, enabling comparisons within and between cities. A global urban indicator framework post-SDGs should be accompanied by guidance on the levels of intervention and targets required to achieve healthy and sustainable built environments.