Social and Socio-environmental Indicators and Challenges for the São Paulo Macrometropolis

The contemporary scenario of climate variability imposes numerous challenges in the socio-environmental field. When measured in the Global South, socio-economic, and environmental inequalities become fundamental indicators for diagnoses and improving planning, decision-making, and public policy in urban spaces. Considering SPMM, inequalities are translated into large segments of the population living in socio-environmental vulnerability, given the precarious access to urban infrastructure and services, especially those related to water supply and basic sanitation. This precariousness of access becomes even more critical in the context of climate change—due to the disturbances already affecting the hydrological cycle—making the debate on the governance of environmental sanitation urgent. This text aims to review this debate regarding the identification, selection, and elaboration of indicators that have a compelling potential to establish the links between water, energy, food, waste, and socio-environmental vulnerability, enabling analysis and support decision-making that potentially could promote good governance and support SPMM to overcome its problematic reality.