Sustainability index: two big Belgian cities singled out for their "poor" score

Planet

Antwerp and Brussels score "poor" in the global index of sustainable cities established every two years by Arcadis and published Thursday.

While fourteen European cities are in the top 20, the Belgian cities only reach 43rd place for Antwerp and 47th for the capital. In 2016, the port city was still 29th and Brussels 40th. Their fall is mainly due to their poor air quality. The ranking compares 100 cities according to thirty indicators divided into three categories: "people", "planet" and "profit". That is social, environmental and economic criteria.

Antwerp and Brussels score well in social terms: the results are considered excellent for income equality and the balance between private and professional life. The quality of education and health care is also raised. However, Arcadis notes that the digital transformation could be faster, that the cost of broadband remains too high and that insufficient free wifi is available.

These rather good results do not compensate for the low scores collected in the environmental category. Poor air quality is especially singled out, despite a cycling infrastructure considered "good" and an effective waste management policy.

For Arcadis, the two Belgian cities are not evolving fast enough. It takes mobility as an example: "while the Netherlands already has 33,000 charging stations for electric vehicles, there are only 2,000 in Belgium.Our companies still consume too much fossil fuel," says Piet Kiekens, expert in sustainable cities at Arcadis.

With regard to the economic factor, Antwerp obtains the highest score for the number of jobs offered in relation to the number of inhabitants. In total, however, the city is 44th while Brussels is 66th. Unemployment in the capital is singled out. In addition, the two cities are at the bottom of the mobility rankings.

Globally, London is voted the most sustainable city, especially because of its good scores for the human and economic dimensions, which offsets its weaknesses such as a lack of affordable housing and car congestion.

Stockholm, Edinburgh, Singapore and Vienna complete the top 5. No city has managed to place in the top 10 in all three categories.