"The HCI 2.0 applies this same methodology to the city level in an effort to assess urban improvements in light of what might be expected from the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA). It is one of the few efforts worldwide to study performance at the city level, rather than using national level averages as identified by the UN Statistical Commission. 

 

This booklet presents a work in progress. The team of twelve New School graduate students (seven women and five men from eight countries), coordinated by Lena Simet, identified 47 indicators within 53 sources and applied them to 178 cities. Their conclusion is that there are very few indicators that can be applied across this sample of cities and that very few indicators of urban performance correlate with city-level GDP. 

 

This finding calls for a more integrated effort and resource allocation to understanding the determinants of performance. Without such analysis, it will be difficult to assess the impact of the SDGs or the NUA, and whether there is evidence at the city level. "