Urban100

Urban100 is a framework and benchmarking tool designed to evaluate and compare cities on a standardized set of 100 indicators spanning social, economic, and environmental performance. It is intended to support data-driven decision making and transparent city governance by providing a common reference point for urban outcomes.

The framework was developed by the Global Urban Observatory and collaborating research partners in the mid-2010s. It organizes indicators into five domains: mobility and accessibility, housing and land use, economy and jobs, environment and resilience, and governance and social inclusion.

Indicators are drawn from public statistics, city open-data portals, household surveys, and remote-sensing data. Scores are normalized to a 0–100 scale, and aggregation allows for domain-level and overall rankings. Users can apply different weighting schemes to reflect local priorities, and the tool supports cross-city comparisons as well as longitudinal tracking of progress.

Applications include benchmarking, policy prioritization, progress reporting toward sustainability goals, and academic research. It has been used in pilot assessments across multiple municipalities to identify efficiency gains, equity gaps, and resilience needs.

Critiques emphasize data availability and quality disparities, the challenge of cross-city comparability, potential overemphasis on quantitative metrics, and the risk of reinforcing a single urban ideal. Proponents note ongoing work to improve data coverage, incorporate qualitative indicators, and involve community input.