Urban expansion of the metropolitan region of Belém from the perspective of a sustainability index system

Abstract The metropolitan area of Belém (RMB) contains 1/3 of the population of Pará State, Brazil, and its recent expansion has caused a number of social and environmental problems that undermine access to infrastructure and services and also impact other factors that influence urban sustainability. In recent years, various methodologies for assessing the sustainability of cities have been proposed, but the challenges of incorporating a multidimensional approach in the evaluation of urban sustainability are still enormous. In this work, we applied the Urban Sustainability Index System (SISU) to the RMB in order to analyze the levels of sustainability of the municipalities that constitute this metropolitan area and to verify the limitations and challenges in applying this method of measurement in the Amazon region. Seven indicators were used for the environmental quality index (IQA), and four for the political institutional capacity index (ICP) and the municipal human development index (IDHM). The results show that there is little variation in the IQA and IHDM indices, and the least-populated municipalities such as Santa Barbara and Benevides have better IQAs, while larger-populated municipalities, such as Belém and Ananindeua, have better IDHMs. However, it is in relation to ICP that this metropolitan area has the highest inequality, thus reflecting the need for the institutional and political empowerment of this region.

摘要：贝伦大都会区（RMB）承载了巴西帕拉州三分之一的人口，其近年的扩张引发了诸多社会与环境问题，不仅削弱了基础设施与公共服务的可及性，还对影响城市可持续性的各类要素造成负面影响。近年来，学界已提出多种城市可持续性评估方法，但在城市可持续性评价中融入多维度分析框架仍面临诸多严峻挑战。本研究将城市可持续性指标体系（Urban Sustainability Index System，缩写为SISU）应用于贝伦大都会区，以分析构成该都会区的各自治市的可持续性水平，并验证在亚马逊地区应用该测量方法时存在的局限与挑战。其中，环境质量指数（Environmental Quality Index, IQA）采用7项评价指标，政治制度能力指数（Political Institutional Capacity Index, ICP）与市级人类发展指数（Municipal Human Development Index, IDHM）则各采用4项指标。研究结果显示，环境质量指数与市级人类发展指数的整体差异较小：人口较少的自治市如圣巴巴拉（Santa Barbara）与贝内维德斯（Benevides）拥有更优异的环境质量指数，而人口规模较大的自治市如贝伦与阿南丁纽阿（Ananindeua）则具备更出色的市级人类发展指数。然而，该都会区在政治制度能力指数维度上的不平等程度最为突出，这反映出该地区亟需推进制度与政治赋权工作。