National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 37120:2018. It supersedes BS ISO 37120:2014, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee SDS/2, Smart and sustainable cities and communitiesSustainable Communities.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 July 2018.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see http://www.iso.org/directives).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see http://www.iso.org/patents).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see http://www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 268, Sustainable cities and communities.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 37120:2014), which has been technically revised.

In the development of this document, ISO Guide 82 has been taken into account in addressing sustainability issues.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at http://www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

Cities need indicators to measure their performance. Existing indicators at the local level are often not standardized, consistent, or comparable over time or across cities. This document is focused on city services and quality of life as a contribution to the sustainability of the city.

As part of a new series of International Standards being developed for a holistic and integrated approach to sustainable development, that includes indicators for city services and quality of life, indicators for smart cities and indicators for resilient cities, this set of standardized indicators provides a uniform approach to what is measured, and how that measurement is to be undertaken. As a list, it does not provide a value judgement, threshold or target numerical value for the indicators.

Conformance with this document does not confer a status in this regard. A city which conforms to this document in regards to measurement of indicators for city services and quality of life may only claim conformance to that effect.

These indicators can be used to track and monitor progress on city performance. In order to achieve sustainable development, the whole city system needs to be taken into consideration. Planning for future needs should take into consideration current use and efficiency of resources in order to better plan for tomorrow.

The indicators and associated test methods in this document have been developed in order to help cities:

measure performance management of city services and quality of life over time;
learn from one another by allowing comparison across a wide range of performance measures; and,
support policy development and priority setting.

NOTE It is acknowledged that cities might not have direct influence or control over factors governing some of these indicators, but the reporting is important for meaningful comparison and provides a general indication of service delivery and quality of life within a city.

The indicators in this document have been selected to make reporting as simple and inexpensive as possible, and therefore reflect an initial platform for reporting. Further development of indicators to support smartness (ISO 371221) and resilience (ISO 371232) in cities is ongoing in TC 268. This document also includes a third category of indicators – profile indicators – that are recommended to provide basic statistics and background information to help cities conduct peer comparisons. Additional profile indicators are listed in Annex D.

Maintaining, enhancing and accelerating progress towards improved city services and quality of life is also fundamental to the definitions of both smart cities and resilient cities. This document is intended to be implemented in conjunction with ISO 37122 and ISO 37123 to measure progress towards smart cities and resilient cities, respectively. The relationship between the family of standards is presented in Figure 1.

The indicators are structured around themes. Recognizing the differences in resources and capabilities of cities worldwide, the overall set of indicators for city performance has been divided into “core” indicators (those implementing this document shall follow) and “supporting” indicators (those implementing this document should follow). Both core and supporting indicators are listed in Annex A, Table A.1.

In this document, the following verbal forms are used:

“shall” indicates a requirement;
“should” indicates a recommendation;
“may” indicates a permission;
“can” indicates a possibility or a capability.

1 Scope

This document defines and establishes methodologies for a set of indicators to steer and measure the performance of city services and quality of life. It follows the principles set out in ISO 37101 and can be used in conjunction with ISO 37101 and other strategic frameworks.

This document is applicable to any city, municipality or local government that undertakes to measure its performance in a comparable and verifiable manner, irrespective of size and location.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 City indicators

5 Economy

5.1 City’s unemployment rate (core indicator)

5.2 Assessed value of commercial and industrial properties as a percentage of total assessed value of all properties (supporting indicator)

5.3 Percentage of persons in full-time employment (supporting indicator)

5.4 Youth unemployment rate (supporting indicator)

5.5 Number of businesses per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

5.6 Number of new patents per 100 000 population per year (supporting indicator)

5.7 Annual number of visitor stays (overnight) per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

5.8 Commercial air connectivity (number of non-stop commercial air destinations) (supporting indicator)

5.9 Economy profile indicators

6 Education

6.1 Percentage of female school-aged population enrolled in schools (core indicator)

6.2 Percentage of students completing primary education: survival rate (core indicator)

6.3 Percentage of students completing secondary education: survival rate (core indicator)

6.4 Primary education student–teacher ratio (core indicator)

6.5 Percentage of school-aged population enrolled in schools (supporting indicator)

6.6 Number of higher education degrees per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

7 Energy

7.1 Total end-use energy consumption per capita (GJ/year) (core indicator)

7.2 Percentage of total end-use energy derived from renewable sources (core indicator)

7.3 Percentage of city population with authorized electrical service (residential) (core indicator)

7.4 Number of gas distribution service connections per 100 000 population (residential) (core indicator)

7.5 Final energy consumption of public buildings per year (GJ/m²) (core indicator)

7.6 Electricity consumption of public street lighting per kilometre of lighted street (kWh/year) (supporting indicator)

7.7 Average annual hours of electrical service interruptions per household (supporting indicator)

7.8 Energy profile indicators

8 Environment and climate change

8.1 Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration (core indicator)

8.2 Particulate matter (PM10) concentration (core indicator)

8.3 Greenhouse gas emissions measured in tonnes per capita (core indicator)

8.4 Percentage of areas designated for natural protection (supporting indicator)

8.5 NO₂ (nitrogen dioxide) concentration (supporting indicator)

8.6 SO₂ (sulfur dioxide) concentration (supporting indicator)

8.7 O₃ (ozone) concentration (supporting indicator)

8.8 Noise pollution (supporting indicator)

8.9 Percentage change in number of native species (supporting indicator)

9 Finance

9.1 Debt service ratio (debt service expenditure as a percentage of a city's own-source revenue) (core indicator)

9.2 Capital spending as a percentage of total expenditures (core indicator)

9.3 Own-source revenue as a percentage of total revenues (supporting indicator)

9.4 Tax collected as a percentage of tax billed (supporting indicator)

9.5 Finance profile indicators

10 Governance

10.1 Women as a percentage of total elected to city-level office (core indicator)

10.2 Number of convictions for corruption and/or bribery by city officials per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

10.3 Number of registered voters as a percentage of the voting age population (supporting indicator)

10.4 Voter participation in last municipal election (as a percentage of registered voters) (supporting indicator)

11 Health

11.1 Average life expectancy (core indicator)

11.2 Number of in-patient hospital beds per 100 000 population (core indicator)

11.3 Number of physicians per 100 000 population (core indicator)

11.4 Under age five mortality per 1 000 live births (core indicator)

11.5 Number of nursing and midwifery personnel per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

11.6 Suicide rate per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

12 Housing

12.1 Percentage of city population living in inadequate housing (core indicator)

12.2 Percentage of population living in affordable housing (core indicator)

12.3 Number of homeless per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

12.4 Percentage of households that exist without registered legal titles (supporting indicator)

12.5 Housing profile indicators

13 Population and social conditions

13.1 Percentage of city population living below the international poverty line (core indicator)

13.2 Percentage of city population living below the national poverty line (supporting indicator)

13.3 Gini coefficient of inequality (supporting indicator)

13.4 Population and social conditions profile indicators

14 Recreation

14.1 Square metres of public indoor recreation space per capita (supporting indicator)

14.2 Square metres of public outdoor recreation space per capita (supporting indicator)

15 Safety

15.1 Number of firefighters per 100 000 population (core indicator)

15.2 Number of fire-related deaths per 100 000 population (core indicator)

15.3 Number of natural-hazard-related deaths per 100 000 population (core indicator)

15.4 Number of police officers per 100 000 population (core indicator)

15.5 Number of homicides per 100 000 population (core indicator)

15.6 Number of volunteer and part-time firefighters per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

15.7 Response time for emergency response services from initial call (supporting indicator)

15.8 Crimes against property per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

15.9 Number of deaths caused by industrial accidents per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

15.10 Number of violent crimes against women per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

16 Solid waste

16.1 Percentage of city population with regular solid waste collection (residential) (core indicator)

16.2 Total collected municipal solid waste per capita (core indicator)

16.3 Percentage of the city's solid waste that is recycled (core indicator)

16.4 Percentage of the city's solid waste that is disposed of in a sanitary landfill (core indicator)

16.5 Percentage of the city's solid waste that is treated in energy-from-waste plants (core indicator)

16.6 Percentage of the city's solid waste that is biologically treated and used as compost or biogas (supporting indicator)

16.7 Percentage of the city's solid waste that is disposed of in an open dump (supporting indicator)

16.8 Percentage of the city's solid waste that is disposed of by other means (supporting indicator)

16.9 Hazardous waste generation per capita (tonnes) (supporting indicator)

16.10 Percentage of the city’s hazardous waste that is recycled (supporting indicator)

17 Sport and culture

17.1 Number of cultural institutions and sporting facilities per 100 000 population (core indicator)

17.2 Percentage of municipal budget allocated to cultural and sporting facilities (supporting indicator)

17.3 Annual number of cultural events per 100 000 population (e.g. exhibitions, festivals, concerts) (supporting indicator)

18 Telecommunication

18.1 Number of internet connections per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

18.2 Number of mobile phone connections per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

19 Transportation

19.1 Kilometres of public transport system per 100 000 population (core indicator)

19.2 Annual number of public transport trips per capita (core indicator)

19.3 Percentage of commuters using a travel mode to work other than a personal vehicle (supporting indicator)

19.4 Kilometres of bicycle paths and lanes per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

19.5 Transportation deaths per 100 000 population (supporting indicator)

19.6 Percentage of population living within 0,5 km of public transit running at least every 20 min during peak periods (supporting indicator)

19.7 Average commute time (supporting indicator)

19.8 Transportation profile indicators

20 Urban/local agriculture and food security

20.1 Total urban agricultural area per 100 000 population (core indicator)

20.2 Amount of food produced locally as a percentage of total food supplied to the city (supporting indicator)

20.3 Percentage of city population undernourished (supporting indicator)

20.4 Percentage of city population that is overweight or obese — Body Mass Index (BMI) (supporting indicator)

21 Urban planning

21.1 Green area (hectares) per 100 000 population (core indicator)

21.2 Areal size of informal settlements as a percentage of city area (supporting indicator)

21.3 Jobs–housing ratio (supporting indicator)

21.4 Basic service proximity (supporting indicator)

21.5 Urban planning profile indicators

22 Wastewater

22.1 Percentage of city population served by wastewater collection (core indicator)

22.2 Percentage of city’s wastewater receiving centralized treatment (core indicator)

22.3 Percentage of population with access to improved sanitation (core indicator)

22.4 Compliance rate of wastewater treatment (supporting indicator)

23 Water

23.1 Percentage of city population with potable water supply service (core indicator)

23.2 Percentage of city population with sustainable access to an improved water source (core indicator)

23.3 Total domestic water consumption per capita (litres/day) (core indicator)

23.4 Compliance rate of drinking water quality (core indicator)

23.5 Total water consumption per capita (litres/day) (supporting indicator)

23.6 Average annual hours of water service interruptions per household (supporting indicator)

23.7 Percentage of water loss (unaccounted for water) (supporting indicator)

24 Reporting and record maintenance

Bibliography

BS ISO 37120:2018

Sustainable cities and communities. Indicators for city services and quality of life

Current, Under Review

Published:

31 Aug 2018