These reports provide a snapshot of environmental indicators at regular intervals and allow governments to build a picture of a given topic or area over time, which allows them to evaluate the success of plans. In the State of the Australian City reports, up to 2012, reports focused on three indicators: water, energy and waste, to determine Australia's sustainability problems and implement plans to combat them (Jacobs et al. 2014). This style of environmental measurement is very small scale and consequently allows for in-depth analysis of a specific local topic, which may not have been fought elsewhere before. This is a narrowing of both previous measures as it allows you to focus on one or more specific topics and easily identify and address obvious gaps in the current system. This is not possible with the other two measures, even if they have a broader scope. In conclusion, all three measures have their strengths and weaknesses: the Eco-City indicators analyze smaller scale issues, the ecological footprint providing a snapshot of the sustainability of cities and the urban ecology examining the broader question in general. The most effective measure would be all three, used together, with an ecological footprint providing a snapshot of a city's state of sustainability, determining urban ecology