Monitoring Portuguese living conditions at local scale: a case study based on sustainable development indicators

Sustainable development policies are the convergence point of plans and actions aiming to attain healthy, prosper and successful societies, while safeguarding natural resources and ecosystems. Progress on sustainable development must be measured on a regular basis to follow and to account for the defined political commitments. Sustainable development policies have impact on people’s life; thus, monitoring must occur at the local scale. Using the framework of the sustainable development goals indicators and the European Union correspondent targets, this work is a contribution to evaluate living conditions at the municipal scale, taking Portugal as the case study. Fifty-four variables were statistically analysed and combined in a composite index whose conception, methodological procedures and validation process were previously described. Composite indicators are recognized as useful tools to monitor and to compare countries’ evolution and this work focus on the results of an index that was tailored designed to be applied at a local level enabling to monitor SDGs. Results show that Portugal is struggling with the implementation of SDGs, namely: SDG 3, by the uneven distribution of health professionals alongside the increase of deaths by tumours and respiratory diseases; SDG 4, visible by the reduction of students enrolled in basic education; SDGs 7 and 12, by the increase of natural gas per capita consumption. Additionally, the aggravation of fires and the increasing number of incinerators and landfills affect many SDGs targets. At present, generally, living conditions are harsh than in 2009 during the financial crisis.