For my research project, I created an index that evaluates the environmental sustainability of cities in Japan.

 

 This idea is inspired by Japan's performance in the Sustainable Development Report (formerly the SDG Index & Dashboards), published by Cambridge University Press. According to the report, Japan faces significant challenges in SDG 13 – Climate Action, with its development trend classified as stagnating. While Japan's progress on SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities is on track, challenges still persist. These findings highlight the need to assess the environmental sustainability performance of cities, leading to the creation of the Japan Environmental Sustainability City Index to address this gap.​

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The report examined the environmental performances of Japan's metropolitan areas under 7 different categories:

• Energy and CO2

• Environmental risks and resilience

• Transportation

• Air quality

• Buildings

• Waste 

• Land-use