Abstract Summary
There is an ongoing open debate about achieving sustainable development (SD) within planetary boundaries. In this context, it is unsurprising to question the role of urban areas in speeding up an SD. The unstoppable urbanization process has been accompanied by looking at cities as places with higher economic dynamism to achieve higher human well-being. However, contemporary challenges such as tackling urban inequalities within planetary boundaries have led to a rethink of cities as a sustainable solution. In this paper, we discuss three approaches to SD: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Doughnut Economy (DE), and Brede Welvaart adopted in the Netherlands as a feasible alternative to going Beyond GDP. We provide insights about the main overlaps and differences between these SD approaches and how they contribute to tackling urban inequalities within planetary boundaries. To do so, we consider their theoretical foundations and their translation into measurable metrics.
