| City sustainable indicator models are a collection of quantitative measurements used with the intent to evaluate a community's quality of life. Sustainability is a relatively young discipline but the concept of a sustainable community was conceived more than a century ago. Ebenezer Howard (1902) presented the qualities, of garden cities. Howard's three magnets are comparable to what is known as the triple bottom line today: (a) economic, (b) social, and (c) environmental pillars. Small and large cities recognize that healthy community development centers on these three pillars, for a decision or new practice needs to be (a) economically sound, (b) accepted by residents, and (c) environmentally sound. The use of sustainable indicator models are being developed and utilized by cities to help measure, monitor and guide future development. This case study compared data from two cities one with a population of 65,000 people and the other with a population of 23,000 people, plus incorporated city leaders interviews. The model utilized in this study was developed by the University of Iowa for the city of Dubuque, Iowa. The research found city size did have some impact as the larger city, Dubuque, was able to collect more indicator data than the smaller city, Brookings, SD. Some of the challenges identified were (a) technician skill level, (b) sensitive data, (c) tracking data, and (d) complex data. Even though the smaller city did not complete as many indicators as the larger, the smaller city was able to gain a perspective of the community's sustainability. Dubuque's indicator model does appear to have efficacy. |
