Although the recorded changes in the indexes are so minimal that it is difficult to associate this reduction to the implementation of successful environmental and social sustainability policies, we report the most recent actions promoted by many cities in the sample. Barcelona and its surrounding municipalities have a protected area of more than 95 km2 (the «Barcelona Ring Roads Low Emission Zone») which bans any vehicles that do not bear the DGT’s environmental label. The goal is to improve environmental health and cut emissions while, at the same time, promoting alternative transportation modes. Since 2020 the City Council has activated a number of projects to foster sustainable development like the transformation of the building La Magoria into a hub for sport, housing and green areas; the renewal of the bus fleet; the launch of a competition to build green rooftops on ten blocks of flats; the pedestrianisation of Via Laietana; and the transformation of Avenida Meridiana into a green corridor.

The City of Athens developed in 2019 its Resilience Strategy for 2030, a document gathering actions to improve resilience and ensure sustainable growth in different sectors. The interventions regard the reinforcement of the following systems: (i) governance and participation of citizens to make Athens more transparent and open; (ii) natural networks and green infrastructures; (iii) safety, by enhancing planning in the face of future shocks and stresses; (iv) the city’s vibrancy, to promote well-being, creativity, entrepreneurship and inclusiveness.

In 2019, the Participatory Strategic Urban Planning for Alexandria till 2032 was published. By taking into account sustainability issues, the document defines a roadmap towards the construction of a sustainable community and new approaches to reducing the city’s impact on the environment.

With regard to sustainable mobility, Istanbul recently launched its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (March 2022), a strategy ¶{p. 354}aimed at placing people, quality of life, accessibility and public engagement at the centre of the planning process of the megacity, by reducing car-dependency and hence GHG emissions, noise pollution and traffic accidents.

In Algiers, the Urban Development Master Plan is ongoing, with a series of targets set for 2035, such as boosting the urban socio-economy, controlling urban growth, promoting mobility based on proximity, reducing crime and making Algiers a «green metropolis of the Mediterranean». To achieve these targets, the Municipality has adopted several plans: the «Green Plan» for the restoration of the city’s ecosystem and the development of nature-based solutions; the «Blue Plan» for the management of water resources; the «White Plan» to regenerate the historical city centre; and the «Mobility Plan» to optimize accessibility and promote sustainable forms of mobility.

In June 2022, the Municipality of Beirut, together with the UN Habitat Programme, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance Beirut on the roadmap towards achieving SDGs by promoting redevelopment projects and citizen engagement. Among the various projects the Beirut Housing Rehabilitation and Cultural Creative Industries Recovery are intended to foster sustainable development in the social sphere.

Albeit far from exhaustive, the list of actions implemented to achieve SDG goals reveals the 360-degree engagement of several Mediterranean cities to sustainability. As shown by economic indexes, more than urban indexes, the current conflict is exacerbating already complex challenges: the cost of living, environmental quality, safety and security issues in urban environments are among those most affecting the path towards sustainability.

In conclusion, this contribution sought to depict the initial and certainly not definitive effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on cities, through the lens of sustainability. Due to the discouraging nature and developments of the events, further insights and in-depth analysis would be interesting to prove their effects and respective weights vis-à-vis the achievement of sustainability goals, in terms of time ranges and included indicators. Thus confined, the indexes selected for this first investigation reveal that cities should take into account the potential impacts of the crisis and undertake strategies to prepare for the challenges that the ensuing conflict will cause in the coming years.