Orienteering the landscape of urban water sustainability indicators

Indicator frameworks for urban water sustainability are very diverse, with tools designed for different practical use cases and employing different assessment approaches. This creates a complex landscape that scholars and practitioners must successfully “orienteer” so that they may effectively apply the literature to develop theory and/or manage practical problems of sustainability. Based on a systematic analysis of indicator frameworks for urban water sustainability, this paper presents an overview of framework designs and current design trends. Five key framework design decisions and respective options are outlined, and the patterns in and implications of their use are discussed. While the decisions were identified based on material for assessing urban water sustainability, the categories of decisions and options are relevant to environmental sustainability more broadly. The paper is aimed at framework users looking for an overview of different framework designs and their benefits and drawbacks and framework designers interested in common options, current trends, and difficulties.