A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case Study

The City of Duhok in Iraq, as one of the Kurdistan Region’s (KR) main cities, is concerned about sustainability but lacks the measures to guide urban policies. This study bridges this gap and offers an example of the use of urban sustainability indicators in an emerging region that experie...

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Main Authors: Azad Hassan, Zeenat Kotval-K
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5402
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spelling doaj-dedcdd1cdcd94dbcb5ea00558098a2172020-11-25T01:41:44ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502019-09-011119540210.3390/su11195402su11195402A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case StudyAzad Hassan0Zeenat Kotval-K1School of Planning, Design, and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USASchool of Planning, Design, and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USAThe City of Duhok in Iraq, as one of the Kurdistan Region’s (KR) main cities, is concerned about sustainability but lacks the measures to guide urban policies. This study bridges this gap and offers an example of the use of urban sustainability indicators in an emerging region that experiences rapid urbanization and growth. The substantial objective of this study was to develop a functional framework of indicators to assess and measure urban sustainability for the city after KR’s declaration of autonomy in 1991 until 2010. That is, we limited our investigation to examining previous research, which decisively contains the approach to “measuring urban sustainability”. The study followed a three-step approach to examine urban sustainability as an integration of a few other relevant studies. The study concluded with two facts: First, the lack of progress on urban sustainability in the first decades resulted from the destabilized era that left the city administratively fragmented. Second, the political and economic watershed led to steady progress towards urban sustainability post-2005. The study highlights nine urban sustainability indicators, from a total of 39 indicators, that played an important role in navigating the general trend of urban sustainability in the city and how they can be used to promote future sustainable practices.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5402measuring urban sustainabilitysustainability indicatorsemerging citiesduhokkurdistan region
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Azad Hassan
Zeenat Kotval-K
spellingShingle Azad Hassan
Zeenat Kotval-K
A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case Study
Sustainability
measuring urban sustainability
sustainability indicators
emerging cities
duhok
kurdistan region
author_facet Azad Hassan
Zeenat Kotval-K
author_sort Azad Hassan
title A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case Study
title_short A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case Study
title_full A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case Study
title_fullStr A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case Study
title_full_unstemmed A Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability in an Emerging Region: The City of Duhok as a Case Study
title_sort framework for measuring urban sustainability in an emerging region: the city of duhok as a case study
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2019-09-01
description The City of Duhok in Iraq, as one of the Kurdistan Region’s (KR) main cities, is concerned about sustainability but lacks the measures to guide urban policies. This study bridges this gap and offers an example of the use of urban sustainability indicators in an emerging region that experiences rapid urbanization and growth. The substantial objective of this study was to develop a functional framework of indicators to assess and measure urban sustainability for the city after KR’s declaration of autonomy in 1991 until 2010. That is, we limited our investigation to examining previous research, which decisively contains the approach to “measuring urban sustainability”. The study followed a three-step approach to examine urban sustainability as an integration of a few other relevant studies. The study concluded with two facts: First, the lack of progress on urban sustainability in the first decades resulted from the destabilized era that left the city administratively fragmented. Second, the political and economic watershed led to steady progress towards urban sustainability post-2005. The study highlights nine urban sustainability indicators, from a total of 39 indicators, that played an important role in navigating the general trend of urban sustainability in the city and how they can be used to promote future sustainable practices.
topic measuring urban sustainability
sustainability indicators
emerging cities
duhok
kurdistan region
url https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5402
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