IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i1p72-d1559083.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial–Temporal Ontology of Indicators for Urban Landscapes

Author

Listed:
  • Francesco Sica

    (Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Flaminia 359, 00196 Rome, Italy)

  • Pierfrancesco De Paola

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, Vincenzo Tecchio Sq. 80, 80125 Naples, Italy)

  • Francesco Tajani

    (Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Flaminia 359, 00196 Rome, Italy)

  • Endriol Doko

    (Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Flaminia 359, 00196 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Urban development is increasingly scrutinized for its sustainability from an economic, social, and environmental viewpoint. This study emphasizes how important indicators are in capturing the complexity of urban settings when assessing urban landscapes and making sure that comprehensive development plans incorporate all these aspects. The work aim is to forward the investigation of the ontology of indicators related to urban sustainability, specifically, a framework for spatial and temporal analysis and an attempt to align terminology with the sustainability indicators of the ISO spectrum. The methodology encompasses three main phases: a systematic review of sustainability indicators from the scientific literature across various territorial scales; the mapping of individual indicators to their appropriate spatial–temporal measurement ranges; and the alignment of these spatially and temporally specific indicators with ISO standards. Focusing on the Italian context, this study establishes an ontological spatial–temporal framework. It analyzes ISO indicators that can be managed in Italian spatial settings. The main objective of this part of the research is to select through a critical analysis the most frequent indicators in order to be able to make an alignment and define those that aim more at the goals of the 2030 Agenda on sustainability. This innovative approach enhances urban issue awareness and supports informed decision-making by demonstrating how sustainability indicators can be effectively utilized in downscaling strategies to create a policy for the practical use of indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Sica & Pierfrancesco De Paola & Francesco Tajani & Endriol Doko, 2025. "Spatial–Temporal Ontology of Indicators for Urban Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-24, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:1:p:72-:d:1559083
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/72/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/1/72/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Reed, Mark S. & Fraser, Evan D.G. & Dougill, Andrew J., 2006. "An adaptive learning process for developing and applying sustainability indicators with local communities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 406-418, October.
    2. Josef Vodák & Dominika Šulyová & Milan Kubina, 2021. "Advanced Technologies and Their Use in Smart City Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Juste Rajaonson & Georges A. Tanguay, 2019. "Urban Sustainability Indicators from a Regional Perspective: Lessons from the Montreal Metropolitan Area," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 985-1005, February.
    4. Cattaneo, Andrea & Adukia, Anjali & Brown, David L. & Christiaensen, Luc & Evans, David K. & Haakenstad, Annie & McMenomy, Theresa & Partridge, Mark & Vaz, Sara & Weiss, Daniel J., 2022. "Economic and social development along the urban–rural continuum: New opportunities to inform policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Xun Zeng & Yuanchun Yu & San Yang & Yang Lv & Md Nazirul Islam Sarker, 2022. "Urban Resilience for Urban Sustainability: Concepts, Dimensions, and Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-27, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Behroozeh, Samira & Hayati, Dariush & Karami, Ezatollah, 2022. "Determining and validating criteria to measure energy consumption sustainability in agricultural greenhouses," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    2. repec:plo:pone00:0128752 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Ivan Blečić & Arnaldo Cecchini & Emanuel Muroni & Valeria Saiu & Serafino Scanu & Giuseppe Andrea Trunfio, 2023. "Addressing Peripherality in Italy: A Critical Comparison between Inner Areas and Territorial Capital-Based Evaluations," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Shamsheer Haq & Ismet Boz, 2020. "Measuring environmental, economic, and social sustainability index of tea farms in Rize Province, Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 2545-2567, March.
    5. Michelle L. M. Graymore, 2014. "Sustainability Reporting: An Approach to Get the Right Mix of Theory and Practicality for Local Actors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-26, May.
    6. Castellani, V. & Sala, S., 2010. "Sustainable performance index for tourism policy development," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 871-880.
    7. Gemma Burford & Elona Hoover & Ismael Velasco & Svatava Janoušková & Alicia Jimenez & Georgia Piggot & Dimity Podger & Marie K. Harder, 2013. "Bringing the “Missing Pillar” into Sustainable Development Goals: Towards Intersubjective Values-Based Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-25, July.
    8. Masoomeh Shemshad & Agnieszka Synowiec & Marcin Kopyra & Zsófia Benedek, 2025. "The Community-Driven Ecosystem Resilience and Equity Framework: A Novel Approach for Social Resilience in Ecosystem Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-31, April.
    9. Jie Zhou & Wenyi Liu & Yu Lin & Benyong Wei & Yaohui Liu, 2024. "The Evaluation and Comparison of Resilience for Shelters in Old and New Urban Districts: A Case Study in Kunming City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-15, April.
    10. Mingting Shi & Shenao Ma & Sheng Zhong, 2025. "Temporal and Spatial Evolution Characteristics and Obstacle Factor Analysis of Rural Modernization Development Level in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-23, March.
    11. Carmela Gargiulo & Antonio Sforza & Claudio Sterle & Floriana Zucaro, 2018. "An Optimization Model Fitting the Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, September.
    12. Garmendia, Eneko & Stagl, Sigrid, 2010. "Public participation for sustainability and social learning: Concepts and lessons from three case studies in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1712-1722, June.
    13. Morgan, Te Kipa Kepa Brian & Fa`aui, Tumanako Ngawhika, 2018. "Empowering indigenous voices in disaster response: Applying the Mauri Model to New Zealand's worst environmental maritime disaster," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 984-995.
    14. Olfa Gharsallah & Claudio Gandolfi & Arianna Facchi, 2021. "Methodologies for the Sustainability Assessment of Agricultural Production Systems, with a Focus on Rice: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-16, October.
    15. Umberto Berardi, 2013. "Sustainability assessment of urban communities through rating systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1573-1591, December.
    16. Olson, Julia & Clay, Patricia M. & Pinto da Silva, Patricia, 2014. "Putting the seafood in sustainable food systems," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 104-111.
    17. Ayse Gertik & Aykut Karaman, 2023. "The Fractal Approach in the Biomimetic Urban Design: Le Corbusier and Patrick Schumacher," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-21, May.
    18. Donghyun Kim & Jung Eun Kang, 2020. "Building Consensus with Local Residents in Community-Based Adaptation Planning: The Case of Bansong Pilbongoreum Community in Busan, South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, February.
    19. Hamil Pearsall, 2010. "From Brown to Green? Assessing Social Vulnerability to Environmental Gentrification in New York City," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 28(5), pages 872-886, October.
    20. Charlotte Glennie, 2020. "Growing Together: Community Coalescence and the Social Dimensions of Urban Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.
    21. Fatemeh Asghari & Farzad Piadeh & Daniel Egyir & Hossein Yousefi & Joseph P. Rizzuto & Luiza C. Campos & Kourosh Behzadian, 2023. "Resilience Assessment in Urban Water Infrastructure: A Critical Review of Approaches, Strategies and Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-24, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:1:p:72-:d:1559083. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.