Paper short abstract:

ISO 37120, a set of 100 indicators representing a range of urban systems and practices, makes cities more amenable to circulating policies and technical systems. In order to achieve this the standard's certifying body must act to draw the spatial and temporal extent of city data towards an ideal.

Paper long abstract:

Despite the difficulties involved, there is much which might be gained by accurately measuring and comparing cities. In this paper I will present research on one such effort to make city data commensurable: ISO 37120:2014. This international standard—a set of 100 indicators which represent a range of urban systems and practices—promises city officials the ability to benchmark their city against other cities globally. I argue that the standard's potential to achieve this is premised upon two aspects of its design. First, its definition of 'the city' is deferred to the civil servants and data analysts enlisted in its implementation. This acts to ensure that the particularities of local data gathering practices do not disrupt the normativity of the 100 indicators. Second, through the use of annual auditing mechanisms and a multi-tiered certification system, the standard's certifying body, the World Council on City Data, has the capacity to subtly monitor and modify the ways in which the indicators are met. Over time, these two aspects might be used to draw the spatial and temporal extent of city data towards an ideal. This has important economic and political implications. Once city data is commensurable with a global norm, the city itself will become more amenable to circulating policies and technical systems.