Building sustainable cities today demands more than a tick-box and targets-based approach, says Kelly Russell Catella.

We are living at a time in which the word sustainability has become misused to the point it can mean everything or nothing. It is becoming increasingly meaningless amid a clamour of claims about what it is to be sustainable in today’s world.

This matters, because if we are to rise to the challenge of the climate emergency and social inequality and transition to a low-carbon and inclusive city-making future, we must apply an understanding of sustainability that is worthy of the term.

Doing so requires a profound cultural shift in what society values, with ‘value’ itself considered not solely in economic terms, but rather in terms of humanity and the planet. This is about ensuring human needs and the needs of the planet are equally on the balance sheet, rather than solely the usual metrics of economic gain.

For Coima, this means approaching sustainable urban regeneration with a balanced approach that seeks to drive forward positive environmental, social and economic impact in a holistic way, avoiding a tick-box approach or focusing on discrete elements or targets that, if achieved, might allow us to declare ourselves ESG-compliant.

Ratings and targets

Measurement of performance is undoubtedly important, but there is a risk of the tail wagging the dog, with ratings and targets coming to define an approach to sustainability that focuses too narrowly on specific achievements.

As a mother of five, would I be considered a good homemaker if I was really great at washing my children’s clothes, but ignored the fact that they also need balanced, nutritious meals?

Coima’s ESG City Impact Fund is invested in the Porta Romana railway yard in Milan, which will host the Olympic Village of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Pictured are students on site taking part in educational activities promoting the values of wellness and inclusion for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Or if I placed great emphasis on their academic achievements without considering their emotional and psychological development, particularly in our fast-changing world where technology is ubiquitous and social media has penetrated their lives?

Or if I just went through the motions as a parent, ticking the box of what society tells me to do as a mother, but all the while my ‘stakeholders’ don’t really feel my heart is in it?

Now take this parallelism and apply it to sustainable city-making and urban regeneration.

What if city-makers focused solely on sustainable modes of transport and low-carbon buildings, but overlooked the need for green spaces, public amenities or affordable housing?

What if a city focused on economic growth, but ignored the need to nurture the social fabric and the network of services that makes a neighbourhood safe and able to thrive?

The bigger picture

While it is undoubtedly important to focus on specific elements of what is to be a sustainable city, it can’t come at the expense of the bigger picture.

We must take a systems approach, understanding how different parts of the whole are inextricably linked and co-dependent.

The Resilient Cities Index, published by The Economist, is a good benchmark. It takes a whole range of metrics, including 19 indicators and 42 sub-indicators, cutting across four key pillars — critical infrastructure, environment, socio-institutional and economic — and defines a resilient city as achieving a balance among all the metrics, rather than being an overachiever in one.

“It is no longer enough to have a separate sustainability team, because sustainability cuts across everything and must inform all our decision-making at every level.”

Kelly Russell Catella, Coima

This serves as an interesting framework for how we must approach city-making.

To take on this task of holistic sustainable development, there are many challenges, but I would like to concentrate on two hurdles our industry must face.

The first is the skill sets of the people involved in delivering our future neighbourhoods and cities.

Alongside the architects, masterplanners and urbanists, we now also need carbon emissions consultants, engineers and landscape designers who are expert in enhancing biodiversity, technologists who understand smart neighbourhoods, timber specialists, cultural strategists, community representatives and other important local stakeholders – the list goes on.

Next generation of talent

We also need the next generation of talent to join us at the table and bring their fresh thinking, helping us to rethink our old ways of doing things in the interests of a more regenerative capitalism focused on positive social and environmental impact, as well as sustainable economic returns.

And in our businesses, it is no longer enough to have a separate sustainability team, because sustainability cuts across everything and must inform all our decision-making at every level.

When you add the incoming integration of AI, which is moving at light speed, it is clear the huge leap required to upskill and reshape our industry to deliver the sustainable communities of the future.

The second hurdle – which is regulatory – is simpler to state, but harder to enact. This involves toughening and tightening the regulatory regime around ESG funds and broader sustainability standards, as well as ensuring consistency, not overlapping across national, European, and global levels, and focusing on a holistic approach that embraces both social and environmental impact.

This will require an even greater leap, but will be vital if we are to rise to the challenge posed by the global emergency, which, as we get close to breaching 1.5C, is unlike any challenge humanity has faced.

Kelly Russell Catella is head of sustainability and communication at Coima and managing director of Fondazione Riccardo Catella