This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
A City Biodiversity Index (CBI) has been proposed and applied at the international level to enable local municipalities and cities to manage biodiversity and ecosystem services in a sustainable manner. CBI databases are being constructed as global platforms, though the available dataset is limited. The land-use dataset is one of the datasets that can be utilized to apply the CBI on the national level in countries including Japan. To demonstrate the importance and potential of the CBI under the limitation of the available dataset, we attempted to apply the CBI to the 791 Japanese cities by using available land-use indicators, and categorized the cities based on the indicators. The focus of the CBI is self-assessment, but we propose that grouping of cities with similar profiles is possible and can serve as a basis for potential collaboration. Coordinating policies on various scales is necessary in order to enhance biodiversity on a global scale; one option is to increase collaboration among cities. As a result, we found three groups with similar characteristics amongst cities with forests, paddies, and croplands as major compositions in terms of biodiversity. These findings will contribute to policy formation and efficient information sharing for ecosystem services management.
Yuta Uchiyama; Kengo Hayashi; Ryo Kohsaka. Typology of Cities Based on City Biodiversity Index: Exploring Biodiversity Potentials and Possible Collaborations among Japanese Cities. Sustainability 2015, 7, 14371 -14384.
AMA StyleYuta Uchiyama, Kengo Hayashi, Ryo Kohsaka. Typology of Cities Based on City Biodiversity Index: Exploring Biodiversity Potentials and Possible Collaborations among Japanese Cities. Sustainability. 2015; 7 (10):14371-14384.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYuta Uchiyama; Kengo Hayashi; Ryo Kohsaka. 2015. "Typology of Cities Based on City Biodiversity Index: Exploring Biodiversity Potentials and Possible Collaborations among Japanese Cities." Sustainability 7, no. 10: 14371-14384.
We have developed a visualized 3-D model of a City Sustainability Index (CSI) based on our original concept of city sustainability in which a sustainable city is defined as one that maximizes socio-economic benefits while meeting constraint conditions of the environment and socio-economic equity on a permanent basis. The CSI is based on constraint and maximization indicators. Constraint indicators assess whether a city meets the necessary minimum conditions for city sustainability. Maximization indicators measure the benefits that a city generates in socio-economic aspects. When used in the policy-making process, the choice of constraint indicators should be implemented using a top-down approach. In contrast, a bottom-up approach is more suitable for defining maximization indicators because this technique involves multiple stakeholders (in a transdisciplinary approach). Using different materials of various colors, shapes, sizes, we designed and constructed the visualized physical model of the CSI to help people evaluate and compare the performance of different cities in terms of sustainability. The visualized model of the CSI can convey complicated information in a simple and straightforward manner to diverse stakeholders so that the sustainability analysis can be understood intuitively by ordinary citizens as well as experts. Thus, the CSI model helps stakeholders to develop critical thinking about city sustainability and enables policymakers to make informed decisions for sustainability through a transdisciplinary approach.
Koichiro Mori; Toyonobu Fujii; Tsuguta Yamashita; Yutaka Mimura; Yuta Uchiyama; Kengo Hayashi. Visualization of a City Sustainability Index (CSI): Towards Transdisciplinary Approaches Involving Multiple Stakeholders. Sustainability 2015, 7, 12402 -12424.
AMA StyleKoichiro Mori, Toyonobu Fujii, Tsuguta Yamashita, Yutaka Mimura, Yuta Uchiyama, Kengo Hayashi. Visualization of a City Sustainability Index (CSI): Towards Transdisciplinary Approaches Involving Multiple Stakeholders. Sustainability. 2015; 7 (9):12402-12424.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKoichiro Mori; Toyonobu Fujii; Tsuguta Yamashita; Yutaka Mimura; Yuta Uchiyama; Kengo Hayashi. 2015. "Visualization of a City Sustainability Index (CSI): Towards Transdisciplinary Approaches Involving Multiple Stakeholders." Sustainability 7, no. 9: 12402-12424.