An updated picture of target 11.1 and 11.3: Pathways of implementation in the light of Covid-19

What has changed in the concept of resilient/sustainable cities and human settlements with Covid-19? When we talk about “adequate housing and basic service” today, do we have in mind the same housing and services we were thinking about before the pandemic? Nowadays, what indicators do we need to develop and monitor sustainable urban policies? The paper seeks to answer these questions by focusing on some dimensions of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) linked to sustainability in the urban environment: accessibility to adequate housing and basic services (with reference to target 11.1, Affordable housing), land consumption and direct participation in urban planning (both dimensions in reference to target 11.3, Inclusive and Sustainable Urbanization). The objective of this paper is twofold: first, an updated picture of the indicators used to monitor target 11.1 and 11.3 to global, European and national level, in Italy is explored; second, assuming a field of analysis limited to a single European country (Italy), we identify some gaps in the existing monitoring according to sustainable issues emerging during the pandemic and scaling-up issues at urban and suburban level, proposing three potential pathways of innovation and implementation of the existing indicators framework. In this sense, the paper proposes a detailed state of the art of the measurement of the aforementioned targets, punctually investigating the concepts at the basis of the existing indicators, the methodologies used for the quantification of the indicators themselves and the different declinations according to the global, European and Italian national scale of reference, providing a complete synthesis framework useful and necessary to open a review of these issues. In line with the aim, the different pathways for the development and implementation of the new indicators are proposed contextually to the Piedmont region and, in particular, to the city of Turin and its metropolitan area.