Sustainability in Stalled Public Works: a framework for measuring economic, social and environmental impacts

The stoppage of public works in Brazil severely impacts socioeconomic and environmental development. This study proposes and validates a framework to measure these impacts through a sustainability lens. Employing a quantitative approach, the model integrates territorial, social, environmental, and economic data, enabling evidence-based prioritization of public interventions. The results indicate that the framework is technically robust and applicable to real-world contexts, with potential to support more structured and transparent decisions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Although calibrated with Brazilian data, the model presents a logical structure and variables that are commonly observed in public infrastructure management, enabling its adaptation to different countries, institutional contexts, and administrative scales through local recalibration. In addition to its practical applicability in bidding processes and oversight actions, the framework contributes theoretically by integrating elements of sustainability, governance, and public policy evaluation into a replicable and modular structure. The main contributions include providing a structured basis for identifying projects and regions where stoppages may have significant multidimensional impacts and for supporting accountability in public resource use. The study also opens avenues for future research on territorial model validation, qualitative variable incorporation, and participatory tool use in public planning.