Table 1.4 Sample Indicators in the Four Capitals Approach

2. It considers externalities (indirect costs and benefi ts) in a more comprehensive fashion than other options now available.

3. It allows for easy comparisons of diff erent categories of costs and benefi ts and allows cities to focus on critical thresholds (for example, limits that should not be crossed) and to recognize the trade-off s that frequently arise between one type of asset and another.

4. It fi ts well into the economic accounting already in place in many cities because it uses an inventory of capital assets, and it makes use of much of the data that are already collected by cities on a regular basis.

5. It reinforces the important concept that assets need to be conserved and enhanced because they provide the fl ows of goods and services that ultimately contribute to human well-being.

Use of indicators to set targets and monitor impacts Monitoring the capital assets of a city and balancing the trade-off s among types of capital require standardized measurements or indicators that correspond to the capacity of assets to provide goods and services. Indicators that cover all four capitals are referred to as indicators of sustainable development. They include monetary values, when these are available and appropriate, and also many physical dimensions.

Table 1.4 provides an example of a few of the indicators used by various cities participating in a European project for sustainable development planning. Based on the European experience, the quality of indicators tends to vary by capital. Manufactured capital tends to

Table 1.4 Sample Indicators in the Four-Capitals Approach

Manufactured capital • GDP per capita • Travel times and average speeds • Gross fi xed capital formation • % population connected to internet • Employment (by sector) • Agricultural produce • Change in real income • Infl ation rate

Natural capital • CO2 emissions • Quantity of collected waste • Air quality • Green areas (km2) • Stocks of endangered species • Energy use per capita • Value per drop of water • Resource effi ciency

Social capital • Wage differentials and poverty • Districts with special development needs • Disparity between income of average, • Out migration of young people highest and lowest deciles • Number of cooperative, inter-municipal • Male/female wage differentials projects and strategies • Number of social welfare recipients • Crime rates

Human capital • Employment growth and rates • Numbers of patent applications • Creation of new high skill jobs • Number of business start-ups • Levels of education and vocational training • Improvement in human health • Public and private R&D expenditures • Participation rate in education and training

Source: GHK (2002). Note: The sample indicators were used in 19 urban regions in Europe as part of a sustainable development assessment. CO2=carbon dioxide; km2 square kilometer; R&D=research and development.