Methodology

The Metro Futures platform focuses on future-proofing cities, equipping them to thrive amid the growing complexities of climate change, rapid urbanization, and socio-economic shifts. The Metro Futures is structured around four core objectives.

Together, these four objectives represent a foundation for forward-looking, resilient, inclusive and well-governed cities and metropolitan areas, that can not only withstand immediate challenges but also flourish.

The four themes of Metro Futures

Resilience

Enabling cities to prepare, respond, recover, and adapt to various shocks and stresses.

Inclusion

Ensuring equitable access to opportunities, services, infrastructure, and resources for all residents.


Governance

Assessing the effectiveness of governance structures, policies, and metropolitan decision-making.

Innovation

Fostering city government capacity to improve urban life and address emerging needs.

In identifying these objectives, and their corresponding key indicators, we built on a number of established frameworks for comprehensive and evidence-based assessment of cities - UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Monitoring Framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda and ISO-37120 on Sustainable Cities & Communities - while prioritizing the most pressing issues for large cities and metropolitan areas specifically. The framework also draws on a set of objective-specific indicator frameworks and sector- or topic-specific initiatives.

Data availability and quality, and the frequency of data updates were critical factors in selecting indicators.

Each indicator aims to provide actionable insights into a city’s performance across these objectives to drive informed decision-making, promote effective policy interventions, and encourage exchange and learning between cities. Ultimately, the platform aims to empower cities to improve the quality of life of their communities.

Our approach

DATA COLLECTION

The quantitative data used on this platform is sourced from a variety of credible sources. These include international multi-indicator datasets and theme-specific initiatives. Metropolis also incorporates national statistics from local census bureaus and national statistics offices, as well as city-specific documents like Voluntary Local Reviews, annual reports, and other relevant local reporting. For mapping strategies and action plans, extensive desk research was conducted to survey the official websites, reports, and documents of the covered cities. This provides a qualitative layer to complement the quantitative data, allowing users to assess cities' policy responses and strategic direction.


DATA LIMITATIONS

Some cities may have data gaps or temporal limitations, particularly when certain indicators are not regularly updated or unavailable in some locations. Cities are encouraged to help us improve the platform by sharing or correcting information. To provide updated data, please get in touch with the team via the About page.


TERRITORIAL BOUNDARIES

The platform defines a ‘Metropolis’ using the EU-OECD Functional Urban Area (FUA) model, which includes a core city and its surrounding ‘commuting zone’ where at least 15% of the population commutes to the core (Dijkstra et al., OECD, 2019). The FUA approach transcends traditional administrative boundaries and helps capture the full economic and social influence of cities, while offering a standardized approach to define and compare metropolitan areas.

For outside the EU and the OECD, Metropolis uses "e-FUAs"—estimated Functional Urban Areas—developed by Monroy et al. (2019). This method approximates metropolitan boundaries based on population density and travel times, to circumvent the issue of unavailability of commuting data. The boundaries reflected within each city profile were sourced from the GHS-FUA R2019A dataset for global FUA boundaries, developed by Schiavina et al. (2019).

In city profiles, boundaries serve as a visual reference and to define each city's surface area. For all other indicators - including per capita or per km² calculations - Metropolis relies on comparative datasets, each with their own consistent city boundary definitions. This eliminates boundary-based bias, ensuring reliable comparability across cities.

Indicators & sources