Overview
ISO/TR 37121:2017 - Sustainable development in communities - is a Technical Report that compiles an inventory of existing guidelines, indicator sets and approaches for sustainable development and resilience in cities. First published in 2017, the report treats resilience as the ability of a city, system, community, local government or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate and recover from hazard effects in a timely and efficient manner, including preserving and restoring essential functions. The report is informational (technical report) and organizes a wide-ranging catalogue of tools, rating systems and monitoring frameworks to help cities measure and improve sustainability and resilience.
Key Topics
- Resilience definition and indicators - concepts for assessing how well cities resist, absorb, accommodate and recover from hazards.
- Inventory methodology - compilation and categorization of existing guidelines, indicators and rating systems for urban sustainability.
- Indicator frameworks - community-scale measurement approaches for climate, disaster risk, biodiversity, energy, water, waste, social cohesion and economic indicators.
- Assessment and rating systems - summary descriptions of practical tools used to evaluate neighbourhoods, developments and city programs.
- Measurement & reporting - approaches for greenhouse gas accounting, benchmarking, monitoring progress, and performance reporting at city scale.
- Capacity building and policy links - guidance resources for integrating disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation and sustainable development into local planning.
Applications
ISO/TR 37121:2017 is useful for practitioners who need an overview of available approaches and how they compare:
- City planners and local governments - select or adapt indicator sets to monitor urban sustainability and resilience.
- Resilience and sustainability officers - benchmark programs, frame resilience targets, and integrate disparate tools.
- Consultants and urban designers - choose assessment and rating systems for projects (neighbourhoods, revitalization, low-carbon initiatives).
- Researchers and policy makers - survey international frameworks to inform policy, reporting and capacity building.
Practical uses include selecting indicators for municipal reporting, aligning local strategies with global frameworks, informing disaster risk reduction planning, designing low‑carbon eco-city projects, and choosing third‑party rating systems for neighbourhoods and developments.
Related frameworks
The report inventories many well-known tools and frameworks used worldwide, such as disaster risk and resilience tools, community-scale greenhouse gas protocols, biodiversity and ecosystem service assessments, and building/area rating systems (examples listed in the report include UNISDR materials, GPC, LEED® for neighbourhood development, BREEAM, CASBEE and other regional eco-city approaches). ISO/TR 37121 is a gateway reference to compare and select suitable urban sustainability and resilience approaches.