Mexico City Ranks as Second Most Sustainable Latin American City

In the fifth edition of Arcadis’ Sustainable Cities Index (SCI), Mexico City ranked second among the Latin American cities, just behind Bogota, Colombia. Overall, Mexico City ranked 79th in a list of 100 cities around the world. The index considers three sustainability benchmarks: planet, people and profit.

For the planet pillar, the consulting company measures greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable transport, renewable energy usage and efficiency. Mexico City ranked 53rd globally and 5th in the Latin American region, surpassed by Lima, Peru as 49th, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as 48th, Sao Paulo, Brazil  as 44th and Bogota, as 20th. 

The people pillar consists of crime levels, education, healthcare and transport, as well as key employment factors like income equality and work-life balance. In this section, Mexico City ranked 83rd globally and 2nd regionally, just behind Bogota, which ranked 82nd , and surpassing Buenos Aires, Argentina on place 84. 

The profit axis measures the ease of doing business, GDP per capita, the stock market value of companies headquartered in the city, the number of companies publicly listed, as well as the impact of these factors on the city’s profitability at an individual level, which includes employment and job quality, as well as access to transport, electricity and affordable housing. Mexico City ranked 77th globally and 2nd regionally, behind Santiago, Chile as 76th and surpassing Sao Paulo, ranking 78th. 

According to the report, Nordic cities stand out regarding the planet and people pillars, while US cities stand out regarding Profit. The Norwegian city of Oslo tops the overall ranking, followed by Stockholm, Tokyo, Copenhagen and Berlin. 

Arcadis, suggests that cities that perform well economically but poorly for other pillars must invest in social policy and environmental strategies. “In order to be truly sustainable, cities must look beyond economic development to the health of their natural environment and the quality of life of the people that live there. Without a thriving urban landscape, that put the planet first while providing inclusive opportunities to its citizens, no city can position itself for long-term success and its prosperity cannot, therefore, be sustained,” the document stated. 

Arcadis said that continuously evolving technology is a major challenge for cities, as they may adopt technologies that soon become obsolete or redundant. Therefore, it is important for governments to think along as well as work closely with market leaders and innovators.

The promise of prosperity and a better quality of life is why many people prefer to live in cities. According to the World Bank, over 55 percent of the world’s population lives in cities. This urban population is expected to double by 2050.