Cleanliness and the quality of public spaces are essential for creating sustainable communities and cities, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11.

To achieve this, we developed and implemented the Cleanliness Quality Index (ICL in Spanish), a tool that objectively evaluates the city's cleanliness level, providing evidence for informed decision-making. Unlike other evaluation tools that audit the execution of street and sidewalk cleaning tasks or conduct management oversight, the ICL takes a comprehensive approach to public cleaning policy, focusing on generating public value.

The ICL is calculated using eight samples, surveying 3,200 blocks (11% of the city’s total), with 270 questions verified on each block. This methodology ensures representative conclusions for the city as a whole and for each of the seven zones where the Urban Hygiene Public Service is contracted.

To guarantee data accuracy and consistency, we developed a robust methodology for data collection, processing, and auditing, incorporating best practices. This includes mobile data collection technology, georeferenced results, and photographic records.

For the ICL design, we analyzed the most relevant international experiences and adapted them to the local context, creating instruments sensitive to key variables and effective in driving policy improvements.

Download the Cleaning Quality Index document and the measurement data.

Learn more about the methodology in our infographic.

Over 1.5 million data points and 75,000 photographs are categorized into five key criteria: Urban hygiene infrastructure, Waste disposal, Dog feces. Street and sidewalk cleanliness and Graffiti, stickers, and others. These criteria have proven versatile for driving improvements in urban hygiene policies over the past year.

The results of each measurement will soon be published periodically on Buenos Aires Data, the city government’s open data platform.
This approach ensures transparency and enhances the use of data by the community as a whole.

The Undersecretariat of Urban Hygiene and Asociación Civil Sustentar won first place at the CCAB Sustainable Leadership Awards 2019 for developing the Cleanliness Quality Index.