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Assessing Urban Sustainability and the Potential to Improve the Quality of Education and Gender Equality in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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  • Puthearath Chan

    (General Secretariat of the National Council for Sustainable Development, Phnom Penh 12301, Cambodia
    R&D Department, Advanced Sustainability Institute (ASI), Phnom Penh 12203, Cambodia)

  • Kulakhmetova Gulbaram

    (Department of Recreational Geography and Tourism, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty 317-117, Kazakhstan)

  • Thorsten Schuetze

    (Department of Architecture, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746, Republic of Korea
    Department of Global Smart City, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

This research assessed the urban sustainability of all 14 districts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to identify weaknesses and improvement potentials to achieve the national development goals; the New Urban Agenda (NUA); and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 4 (quality education), and 5 (gender equality). The indicators’ selection was based on available data. The analysis of the indicators and their weights was based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Indicator weights were used to improve assessment accuracy and identify each district’s unique characteristics and specific strengths and weaknesses. The normal distribution model was used to standardize the variables before comparison. Among the quality education indicators, the access to education and vocational training obtained the highest weight of 0.38, followed by education staff with 0.33 and facilities with 0.29. Among gender-equality-related indicators, the indicators related to professions obtained the highest weight with 0.34, followed by schools with 0.33 and decision-making with 0.32. The most sustainable district was Boeng Keng Kong, with a consolidated result of 22.81 for quality education and gender equality assessment based on indicator weights, followed by the districts Doun Penh with 20.51, Prampir Makara with 19.95, and Chamkarmon with 19.75. This research identified district-specific strengths and weaknesses, whereas the weak points unveil the improvement potential of specific districts.

Suggested Citation

  • Puthearath Chan & Kulakhmetova Gulbaram & Thorsten Schuetze, 2023. "Assessing Urban Sustainability and the Potential to Improve the Quality of Education and Gender Equality in Phnom Penh, Cambodia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-30, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8828-:d:1159742
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Miquel Àngel Essomba & Pilar Lleonart & Laura Alfonso & Hye Bin, 2022. "Education for Sustainable Development in Educating Cities: Towards a Transformative Approach from Informal and Non-Formal Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Puthearath Chan, 2022. "An Empirical Study on Data Validation Methods of Delphi and General Consensus," Data, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Puthearath Chan & Myeong-Hun Lee, 2019. "Developing Sustainable City Indicators for Cambodia through Delphi Processes of Panel Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-32, June.
    4. Puthearath Chan, 2020. "Assessing Sustainability of the Capital and Emerging Secondary Cities of Cambodia Based on the 2018 Commune Database," Data, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-36, September.
    5. Katia Vladimirova & David Le Blanc, 2016. "Exploring Links Between Education and Sustainable Development Goals Through the Lens of UN Flagship Reports," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 254-271, July.
    6. Puthearath Chan, 2021. "Child-Friendly Urban Development: Smile Village Community Development Initiative in Phnom Penh," World, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Rafael de Miguel González & María Sebastián-López, 2022. "Education on Sustainable Development Goals: Geographical Perspectives for Gender Equality in Sustainable Cities and Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Svatava Janoušková & Tomáš Hák & Bedřich Moldan, 2018. "Global SDGs Assessments: Helping or Confusing Indicators?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
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