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Sustainability at the local scale: Defining highly aggregated indices for assessing environmental performance. The province of Reggio Emilia (Italy) as a case study
Título de la revista
Autores
Clereci, Nicola
Bodini, Antonio
Ferrarini, Alessandro
Fecha
2004-10-22
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Editor
Springer Nature
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Abstract
In order to achieve improved sustainability, local authorities need to use tools that adequately describe and synthesize environmental information. This article illustrates a methodological approach that organizes a wide suite of environmental indicators into few aggregated indices, making use of correlation, principal component analysis, and fuzzy sets. Furthermore, a weighting system, which includes stakeholders’ priorities and ambitions, is applied. As a case study, the described methodology is applied to the Reggio Emilia Province in Italy, by considering environmental information from 45 municipalities. Principal component analysis is used to condense an initial set of 19 indicators into 6 fundamental dimensions that highlight patterns of environmental conditions at the provincial scale. These dimensions are further aggregated in two indices of environmental performance through fuzzy sets. The simple form of these indices makes them particularly suitable for public communication, as they condensate a wide set of heterogeneous indicators. The main outcomes of the analysis and the potential applications of the method are discussed.
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Keywords
Environmental quality , Fuzzy sets , Indicators , Local planning , Principal component analysis , Sustainability
