The city of Espoo in Finland scored high in a sustainability assessment of over 140 European cities with a population of more than 100 000.

The study of sustainability challenges was prepared for the Dutch Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2016, and it was carried out by Telos, an academic centre for local and regional sustainability studies at the Tilburg University, in Netherlands.

The study analyses cities’ sustainable development by including ecological, social and economic characteristics.

Overall, Northern European cities scored highest on sustainability. Espoo, Stockholm and Munich form the top three.

Espoo, the neighbouring city of Helsinki, scored high in safety, education, social and economic participation as well as economic knowledge. Altogether 35 per cent of Espoo’s land area is covered with forest, and the city was also recognised as a green city.

The sustainability scores for cities were found to vary widely. Population size, demographic dynamics, geographical region, typology and competitiveness, for example labor productivity, were found to be important determinants of urban sustainability performance.

Cities with a population of 100 000-250 000 inhabitants excel in social and ecological capital, whereas considerably larger cities outperform all other cities in their score on economic capital.

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Source: www.goodnewsfinland.com
Photo: pixabay.com