Indicator frameworks: Helping planners monitor urban sustainability

This policy brief aims to provide planners with a clearer understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented by the use of sustainability indicators to support urban planning and policy-making.

There is a common saying that goes “what gets measured gets managed”. With this in mind, Nordregio research has identified a number of perspectives that can be of value to planners considering whether to use indicator frameworks to monitor the performance of comprehensive urban planning strategies. We found this to be a pressing issue in light of the fact that a number of comprehensive city plans in large Nordic cities have been developed with little or no consideration given to the inclusion of indicator frameworks.