Indicadores de sustentabilidade urbana: as perspectivas e as limitações da operacionalização de um referencial sustentável

Abstract

The complexity of the problems deriving from urban environments has required a deeper and more integrated understanding of the reality of these environments as an essential step toward solutions. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of principles of sustainability in the process of monitoring the socioenvironmental conditions of this medium. To gain a better understanding of the ideas surrounding the perspective of sustainability, the different meanings ascribed to the term, as well as the complementary issues and aspects that interact in this world of considerations are discussed. Thus, basic conceptual elements were sought that would contribute to build aproper definition for use within the context of this work, which in turn allowed for an outline to be made of its essential characteristics and general guiding principles that were then employed to analyze a given set of indicators. Different reflections and proposals regarding the instruments used to evaluate urban conditions were examined to identify a set of variables defining the basic characteristics of projects and implementation. A critical systematization of three previously selected experiences the Agenda 21 Indicators, the Seattle Indicators and the Belo Horizonte Urban Life Quality Index led to the elaboration of an analysis based on the general principles of sustainability and on the set of variables existing in the process of creating, formulating and monitoring these indicators. This analytical repertoire allowed for a definition of the potential represented by these instruments, offering the basic references for its development and implementation in different contexts.