The City of Zurich is the largest in Switzerland in terms of population. It has realised different policies and projects regarding sustainable development. In addition, the city intends to become a smart city and already implemented different projects in this regard. Therefore, the City of Zurich has the relevant tools to provide a comprehensive model and is used as a reference city in this study.

This study focuses on the application of SDG 11 as a metric for visualising urban efforts toward achieving the broader set of SDGs, emphasising its specific relevance to city initiatives. The research proposes to create a reference model utilising open-source data and platforms to evaluate the feasibility of achieving SDG 11. This involves a thorough assessment of each goal within SDG 11 to determine its measurability. The city’s advancements are visualised through appropriate graphical representations if sufficient data is available.

The evaluation of the reference model reveals that the progress of the City of Zurich towards SDG 11 can be visualised. However, data collection challenges arise due to fragmentation across various departments using different data formats, underscoring the need for a platform capable of dealing with different data formats. While the city’s targets align with the SDG, they do not directly translate into targets, requiring extensive research to map these to SDG 11. A key finding is that many targets relate to spatial information, suggesting future research should emphasise spatial data integration. The study also stresses the need for replicable measuring methodologies and processes, vital for effective environmental monitoring and strategic planning.