D) Alternative Metrics
The ambition
This governance ambition is about promoting (new) metrics to guide urban development and policies towards well being and sustainability (rather than classic economic metrics like GDP).
Relation to previous work in UrbanA
This governance ambition fits under the approaches:
It addresses the driver of injustice:
How could it work?
The ways in which we measure things influences problem framings and consequently our responses. If alliances could be forged to promote metrics of well-being and justice and to background or phase out metrics of growth and competitiveness, different measures and expenditures would become imaginable and justifiable than in the current paradigm of competition.
See examples
Check out the GREENLULUS project developing a "Fair Urban Greening Index".
Question
Do we need alternative metrics to guide urban policy development, which could focus on well-beeing and the affordability of housing rather than on GDP growth, employment and investments?