The Global City Indicators

• http://www.cityindicators.org
  

The Global City Indicators Program is structured around 22 “themes” organized into two Categories that measure a range of city services and quality of life factors. These Categories and themes are listed below:
City Services – includes services provided by city governments and other entities.

• Education
• Recreation
• Governance
• Recreation
• Social Services
• Transportation
• Wastewater

• Energy
• Fire and Emergency Response
• Health
• Safety
• Solid Waste
• Urban Planning
• Water

Quality of Life – includes critical contributors to overall quality of life, but are not the direct responsibility of any local service provider.

• Civic Engagement
• Economy
• Shelter
• Subjective Well-Being

• Culture
• Environment
• Social Equity
• Technology and Innovation

City performance relative to each of these themes is measured by a suite of several indicators, which collectively tell a “story”. Overall, 94 indicators have been proposed (see Table 1). Recognizing the differences in resources and capabilities between developed and developing world cities, the overall set of 94 indicators has been divided into 27 “core” indicators, which all cities participating in the initiative would be expected to report on, 26 “supporting” indicators, which all cities would be encouraged, but not expected, to report on, and 41 desirable future indicators which are indicators that have been identified by the Partner Cities as being desirable but that for which a consistent, global methodology has not yet been identified. This set of global city indicators was selected based on significant input from the partner cities, ensuring that these indicators reflect city information needs and interests, and a rigorous screening process. The indicators must be:

• Available, up to date, and able to be reported annually;
• Readily comparable among cities globally;
• Relevant for public policy decision making and/or linked to established goals (e.g. MDG);
• Cost effective to collect;
• Meaningful to cities across the globe regardless of geography, culture, affluence, size, or political structure;
• Understandable and not overly complex;
• Clear as to whether changes in the indicators are good or bad.

Table 1: Global City Indicators

Theme	Global City Indicators (Core indicators in bold, supporting indicators non-bold)
1. City Services
Education	Percentage of children completing primary and secondary education: survival rate Percentage of students completing primary education Percentage of students completing secondary education Student/teacher ratio Percentage of school-aged children enrolled in schools by gender Percentage of male children enrolled in schools Percentage of female children enrolled in schools
	Future Indicators - under discussion Number of libraries per 100,00 population Number of visits to library per 100,000 population Performance on standardized tests Number of institutions of higher learning within 500km Percentage of city population enrolled in institutions of higher learning
Fire and Emergency Response	Number of firefighters per 100,000 population Number of fire related deaths per 100,000 population Response time for fire department from initial call
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Emergency medical services indicator Number of medical personnel per 100,000 Number of fire trucks per 100,000 Number of ambulances per 100,000 Response time for emergency services from initial call Outcome indicators such as rates of fire or property damage and ultimate health/survival rates of patients
Health	Under age five mortality per 1,000 live births Number of in-patient hospital beds per 100,000 population Number of physicians per 100,000 population Average life expectancy Number of nursing and midwifery personnel per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Annual HIV/AIDS death rate per 100,000 population Disaggregation of immunization against infectious childhood diseases Number of health care professionals per 100,000 (physicians, nurses, other)
Recreation	Square metres of public indoor recreation facility space per capita Square metres of public outdoor recreation facility space per capita
	Future Indicators - Under discussion An indicator of recreational use levels Recreation and Culture Index
Safety	Number of homicides per 100,000 population Number of police officers per 100,000 Violent crime rate per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Perception of safety Juvenile crime (gangs and youth related crimes)
Social Services	Under Development
Solid Waste	Percentage of city population with regular solid waste collection Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is recycled Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of in an incinerator Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is burned openly Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of in an open dump Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of in a sanitary landfill Percentage of the city’s solid waste that is disposed of by other means
	Future Indicators - Under dicussion Percentage of population participating in recycling program Indicator to capture informal waste (waste-pickers, sorters, etc.)
Transportation	Km of high capacity public transit system per 100,000 population Km of light passenger transit system per 100,000 population Number of personal automobiles per capita Annual number of public transit trips per capita Number of two-wheel motorized vehicles per capita Commercial Air Connectivity (number of nonstop commercial air destinations) Transportation fatalities per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Total municipal road and transit expenditure per capita Indicator regarding shape/condition of infrastructure Urban accessibility index
Wastewater	Percentage of city population served by wastewater collection Percentage of the city’s wastewater that has received no treatment Percentage of the city’s wastewater receiving primary treatment Percentage of the city’s wastewater receiving secondary treatment Percentage of the city’s wastewater receiving tertiary treatment
	Future Indicators - Under discussion An indicator of wastewater treatment effectiveness Percent of assimilative capacity of receiving water body used
Water	Percentage of city population with potable water supply service Domestic water consumption per capita Percentage of city population with sustainable access to an improved water source Total water consumption per capita Percentage of water loss Average annual hours of water service interruption per household
	Future Inidcators - Under discussion Disaggregate of percentage of city population with potable water supply service into three classes of household connection: shared facility, private distribution (trucks, donkeys, head etc.) and other Percent of treated water lost during distribution Water quality (relative to national standards and boil water advisories) Incidence of water borne diseases Water quality index
Energy	Percentage of city population with authorized electrical service Total residential electrical use per capita Total electrical use per capita (kilowatt/hr) The average number of electrical interruptions per customer per year Average length of electrical interruptions (in hours)
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Share of renewable energy use out of primary energy supply Residential energy use per household by types of energy Total energy use index
Finance	Debt service ratio (debt service expenditures as a percent of a municipality’s own-source revenue) Tax collected as percentage of tax billed Own-source revenue as a percent of total revenues Capital spending as percentage of total expenditures
	Future Inidcators - Under discussion Disaggregate of own-source revenue as a percent of total revenues into categories of property tax, sales tax, user fees and charges and other revenue sources
Governance	Percentage of women employed in the city government workforce
	Future Indicator - Under discussion Average number of days to get a business license Requests for service response time Under discussion to incorporate civic engagement in governance indicator City governance Index
Urban Planning	Jobs/Housing ratio Green area (hectares) per 100,000 population Areal size of informal settlements as a percent of city area
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Frequency of official reviews of master plan/ official plan Percentage of land parcels with a registered title Jobs/housing ratio Mechanisms for enforcement; regulation, planning standards (building codes, zoning by-laws, informal)
2. Quality of Life
Civic Engagement	Voter participation (as a percent of eligible voters) Citizen’s representation: number of local officials elected to office per 100,000 population
Culture	Percentage of jobs in the cultural sector
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Attendance at cultural events per capita Multiculturalism - under discussion Creative cities index
Economy	City product per capita City unemployment rate Percentage of person in full time employment
	Commercial/Industrial assessment as percent of total assessment Investment levels Competitiveness index
Environment	PM10 Concentration Greenhouse gas emissions measured in tonnes per capita
	Future Inidcators - Under discussion Number of days with PM10 exceedences Indicator linking air quality to respiratory problems Sustainable cities/Climate change Plans Greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operation Greenhouse gas index
Shelter	Percentage of city population living in slums Number of households that exist without registered legal titles Number of homeless people per 100,000 population
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Housing price/income ratio Housing rent/income ratio Homelessness
Social Equity	Percentage of city population living in poverty
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Cost of basic necessities or Market Basket Measure Percentage of population receiving government financial assistance Social Programs Gini co-efficient/ income distribution Social Capital Index
Subjective Well-Being	Subjective Well being Index
Technology and Innovation	Number of internet connections per 100,000 population Number of new patents per 100,000 per year Number of higher education degrees per 100,000 population Number of telephones (landlines and cell phones) per 100,000 population Number of landline-telephone connections in the city Number of cell phone connections in the city
	Future Indicators - Under discussion Venture capital investment Broadband penetration rate Creativity index