An Integrated Competitiveness Assessment of the Baltic Capitals Based on the Principles of Sustainable Development

Abstract

The competition between cities involves the search for different ways and means to create, attract, sustain, and use diverse resources, knowledge, ideas, and innovations to support the economic growth of each individual city and, as a result, to strengthen the city’s position in the urban hierarchy both short-term and long-term. However, for each city, urbanisation does not only mean an increase in competitive economic power but also a number of problems such as pollution, poverty, crime and unemployment. In order to address the challenges posed by the urbanisation processes, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) issued the 1987 Report that emphasised the need for sustainable socio-economic development that would also consider ecological factors. Given this, the article examines the issue of urban competitiveness on the basis of sustainable development principles. After a systematic and comparative analysis of the concepts published in the scientific literature, this article accomplishes the following: It defines the concept of competitiveness in urban areas; it identifies the inclusion aspects of the sustainable development principles into the assessment of urban competitiveness; it presents the research into urban competitiveness assessment models; and it carries out an integrated competitiveness assessment of the Baltic capitals in the period of 2014–2019 based on the principles of sustainable development by applying the integrated competitiveness assessment model that is based on the principles of sustainable development (MDK).

Assessment of the Impact of Road Transport Change on the Security of the Urban Social Environment

“…Scientific sources have also developed many assessment methods and complex indices and conducted many studies evaluating cities and sustainable development [5,6,33,35,68,[78][79][80][81][82][83].…”

“…The first part presents the security assessment of the social environment in the context of increasing road transport. The assessment is performed based on the MDK model [6,35]. With their empirical research, the authors of the article seek to determine the assessment and dynamics of the security of the sustainable social environment in the Baltic capitals over the period of 2015-2020 in terms of increasing road transport.…”

“…The scientific literature [1][2][3][4][5][6] points out that infrastructure is a key condition for economic development and meeting the needs of countries, regions, and cities and emphasises its importance for the economic development of lagging cities. Infrastructure is important for both urban residents: businesses and tourists.…”

An Integrated Assessment of the Competitiveness of a Sustainable City within the Context of the COVID-19 Impact

“…The available scientific literature provides a wide variety of methods and classifications when it comes to working out how to assess cities [65][66][67][68]. In addition to that, the available scientific literature also presents and describes assessment methods, complex indices, and empirical studies.…”

“…In addition to that, the available scientific literature also presents and describes assessment methods, complex indices, and empirical studies. Some of these include the following: a study of smart cities, using the example of Amsterdam and London [69]; an assessment of the competitiveness of Lithuanian cities [66,70,71]; an integrated assessment of the competitiveness of the Baltic capitals based on sustainable development principles [68]; an assessment of social environmental competitiveness in terms of security in the Baltic capitals [72]; ranking priorities amongst the Baltic capital cities in terms of the development of sustainable construction [73]; the Lisbon ranking for smart sustainable cities in Europe [74]; a multi-criteria evaluation of smart performance in European cities: economic, social, and environmental aspects [75]; in search of the 'smart' source of the perception of quality of life in European smart cities [76]; determining those factors which form part of becoming a sustainable smart city: an empirical study in Europe [77]; military and demographic interlinkages within the context of Lithuanian sustainability [78]; and an evaluation of the impact of bypasses on air pollution reduction: the case of Vilnius [79].…”