City performance indicators and methods of assessment
Module Overview
This module provides tools and techniques to quantitatively evaluate and compare cities based on standardized metrics. A number of methods of assessment are introduced to offer tools for the performance evaluation of cities using quantifiable metrics through a series of videos about urban metabolism, using emergy and material flow analysis, environmental life cycle analysis and greenhouse gas emissions accounting. You will also find examples of city performance indicators for urban infrastructure in Boston, Buenos Aires and Taipei, and from Cape Town, Minna and Tshwane. In addition to the end of module quiz, you’ll have a chance to join the discussion by contributing your thoughts on how which cities can learn from one another using city performance indicators, and the many data sets and analytics that are available, in addition to a point of reflection. By the end of this module, you will be able to evaluate the performance of cities quantitatively using several methods of assessment.
Topics:
- Urban Metabolism
- Emergy and Material Flow Analysis
- Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting
- Examples from global cities (Boston, Buenos Aires, Taipei)
- Examples from African cities (Cape Town, Minna, Tshwane)
Learning Outcomes
Overall: Evaluate the performance of cities quantitatively using several methods of assessment
- Apply methods of assessment in urban contexts to visualize material and resource flows in cities
- Calculate greenhouse gas emissions resulting from production and consumption activities
- Explain city performance based on urban metabolism
Explore Module
Please note that this preview is intended for exploration purposes only. If you'd like to use this module in one of your courses, to ensure playback and tracking, you must upload the SCORM package (downloadable below) to your institution's Learning Management System (ex. Blackboard, D2L, Moodle, etc).
Related Project Resources
| Type | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| File | Module 4 Assessment Answer Key (DOCX, 18 KB) | |
| File | Module 4 - City Performance Indicators and Methods of Assessment | This SCORM package is the production version of this module. To use it, you must upload it into your institution's Learning Management System (or onto another platform that hosts and plays SCORM packages). Once uploaded, you can specify the settings for this module for your particular use within your class. Students will access this module from your institution's course environment. |
| Video | Welcome to Module 4 | (Duration: 06:02) |
| Video | Urban Metabolism | (Duration: 26:18) |
| Video | Emergy and MFA | (Duration: 19:33) |
| Video | Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting | (Duration: 18:08) |
| Video | Environmental Life Cycle Assessment | (Duration: 06:02) |
