Table 4.
Facilitators and barriers to applying (A) or developing (D) UHI tools
| Facilitators | Type | Barriers |
|---|---|---|
| Data related to policy (A) | Technical | Not related to relevant policy or policy area (A) |
| Data measures of policy inputs and outputs (A) | Lacked new information/or adequate information (A) | |
| Data available at small geographic scales and is comparable (A) | Inappropriate scale of data availability (D/A) | |
| Data not expensive to obtain (D) | Data availability and cost of obtaining data (D/A) | |
| Indicators include social and built environment elements (A) | Limited relevance of indicators to specific users (A) | |
| Provides evidence to support advocacy (A) | Variation in how indicators are prioritized by different groups (D/A) | |
| Measures public service performance (A) | Data did not match the population affected by new development (A) | |
| Data collected over a long period (A) | ||
| City managers receptive to indicator data (A) | Political | Politicians’ concern that indicators would reveal negative issues (A) |
| Indicator work is embedded in a local government department with influence over relevant policy or other departments (A) | Concern that indicators would be used to stop development (A) | |
| Concern that UHI tool would be used to create new regulations (A) | ||
| UHI tool not accepted/valued by all stakeholders (A) | ||
| Conflict between UHI tool stakeholders (A) | ||
| Indicator outputs not politically or financially feasible (A) | ||
| Complexity of policy-making process (A) | ||
| Local leaders did not want policy advice from indicators (D/A) | ||
| Diverse knowledge incorporated via broad participation (D/A) | Knowledge | Knowledge gap about health and land-use (D) |
| Indicators are perceived as “neutral” or “objective” (A) | Knowledge gap about creation and application of indicators (D/A) | |
| Knowledge gap about translating indicator data into development plan recommendations (A) | ||
| Residents/citizens are involved in selecting indicators (D/A) | Organizational | Conflict or disagreement within the indicator producer group (D/A) |
| Indicator developer (or owner) is embedded in local authority (A) | Stakeholder availability and “permission” to participate (D) | |
| Indicator data is integrated early in the planning process (A) | Limited agency/power of the indicator producer or users (D/A) | |
| Difficulty finding neutral space for all stakeholders to meet (D) | ||
| Focusing stakeholder involvement away from grievances (D) | ||
| Lack of collaboration across municipal departments (A) | ||
| Not all stakeholders equally interested in producing indicators (D) | ||
| Resource constraints (A) |