The Metrics We Use Decide the Cities We Build: Urban Indicators and Lived Experience

Twisted Valley / Grupo Aranea. Image © Jesús GranadaModern cities are running on performance indicators. They move millions of people each day, concentrate capital, separate land uses, and sustain complex systems of logistics and consumption. In that sense, the city functions as a system to be continually adjusted and optimized. Today's dominant metrics are familiar and widely witnessed: vehicles per hour, average commute times, floor area ratios, parking turnover, housing starts, an