Overview
ISO 37120:2018 - "Sustainable cities and communities - Indicators for city services and quality of life" is the Slovenian adoption of ISO 37120 (second edition, 2018). The standard defines a standardized set of urban indicators and rigorous methodologies to measure city services and quality of life in a comparable and verifiable way. It is applicable to any city, municipality or local government, irrespective of size or location, and is intended to support performance measurement, benchmarking and strategic planning.
Key topics and technical requirements
The standard organizes indicators by sector and specifies definitions, calculation methods, data sources and interpretation guidance. Key technical topics include:
- Indicator types: core indicators (essential), supporting indicators, and profile indicators for contextual data.
- Sectors covered: economy (e.g., city unemployment rate, number of businesses), education (e.g., enrollment and survival rates, student–teacher ratio), energy (e.g., end-use energy per capita, % renewable energy), environment and climate change (e.g., PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations), plus transportation, water, waste, public safety and more.
- Data quality and comparability: standardized terminology, normative references, and prescribed calculation procedures to ensure results are comparable and verifiable across cities.
- Methodology elements: indicator definitions, numerator/denominator rules, reporting frequency, recommended data sources and interpretation notes.
Practical applications and users
ISO 37120:2018 is designed for practical use by:
- City governments and municipal departments - to monitor performance of urban services, prioritize investments and report progress to stakeholders.
- Sustainability officers and urban planners - to integrate indicator-based evidence into strategic planning and climate action plans.
- Policy makers and elected officials - to benchmark local performance against other cities and identify service gaps.
- Consultants, NGOs and researchers - for standardized metrics in urban studies, grants and project evaluations.
- Smart city programs and data platforms - to align sensor data and dashboards with internationally recognized indicators.
Use cases include local performance dashboards, annual sustainability reports, international benchmarking, SDG monitoring and integration with strategic frameworks such as ISO 37101.
Related standards and alignment
- ISO 37101 - follows the sustainable development management system principles in ISO 37101 and is intended to be used in conjunction with it.
- Works well alongside other urban and environmental standards and reporting frameworks for integrated city performance management.
ISO 37120:2018 is a practical tool for cities seeking standardized, evidence-based metrics to improve services, measure quality of life, and communicate outcomes transparently.
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