Objective:

Reviewing and contrasting quantitative public space (PS) quality assessment methods that can contribute to the fulfillment of the sustainable development goals (SDG).

Methodology:

Authors selected seven evaluation methods from research available in the SCOPUS, SpringerLink, ScienceDirect, Latindex, Scielo, and Redalyc databases based on publications between 2000 and 2020. According to the citations found in said documents, the authors included significant references from previous years. The authors contrasted the methods according to quality dimensions, weighting criteria, and variables.

Results:

The public space quality evaluation with quantitative methods contributes to the fulfillment of the sustainable development goals because it uses concrete and measurable goals. Quantitative data eases the technical diagnosis of public space elements conditions. The authors grouped the variables into dimensions; accessibility and comfort have the most significant relationship with the sustainable development goals. The reviewed methods are expensive and complex; they need an analysis of users’ activities and behaviors. It is challenging to make infrastructure needs visible and meet sustainable development goals for good-quality public space without practical methods.

Conclusions:

The reviewed methods include a quality evaluation, without disaggregation, of individual elements that constitute the public space. It is a challenge to design evaluation instruments for all types of public spaces. The traditional practice is to build new spaces or remodel existing ones without considering the financing for the maintenance of the entire system.

Financing:

Universidad Nacional de Colombia.