Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: The rapid global trend toward urbanization has intensified demands for sustainable, livable, and resilient cities. Green city development has emerged as a pivotal framework for addressing environmental degradation, resource inefficiency, and social inequality in urban areas. However, the absence of a universally accepted evaluation system creates significant challenges for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers seeking to benchmark progress. This study conducts a systematic review of existing indicators and methodologies employed in assessing green city development across global contexts. Drawing upon peer-reviewed literature, international frameworks, and case studies from 2010 to 2024, this paper identifies five core indicator domains: environmental quality, energy efficiency, transport and mobility, green infrastructure, and governance and social equity. Moreover, it critically examines quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method assessment approaches, including composite index construction, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based spatial analysis, and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Findings reveal significant methodological heterogeneity, data gaps in developing regions, and the underrepresentation of socio-cultural dimensions in current frameworks. The study proposes an integrated evaluation framework adaptable to diverse urban contexts and calls for greater standardization to enable cross-city comparisons.
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220326345