Cities and the SDGs

Cities and the SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, are a global framework to coordinate efforts around ending poverty and hunger, combating inequality and disease, and building a just and stable world. There are 17 goals in all, and all 193 nations represented at the U. N. agreed to them. One goal — Goal 11 — specifically aims to build cities that are “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” But one way or another, all of the SDGs intersect with work going on in cities.

Public Safety
Why people dressed as zebras dance in the streets of La Paz
A playful way to make a point about traffic safety is also a sophisticated programme to aid at-risk youth.
Johnny Magdaleno December 18, 2017
Commentary
What Bangkok’s crackdown tells us about the multiple roles of street vendors everywhere
The Thai capital’s attempt to ban the city’s popular food vendors prompted international outrage. But the most significant effects are being felt locally.
Sarah Reed and Sally Roever and Narumol Nirathron August 3, 2017
Culture
3 ways cities can save cultural spaces
Ideas from Seattle that can help cities anywhere protect cultural institutions survive redevelopment pressure and rising rents.
Gregory Scruggs August 1, 2017
Commentary
Is there any hope of aligning the many efforts working on the SDGs?
A major U.N. reform initiative is underway around localization and partnerships. In this, the Habitat III process offers a key model.
Eugénie L. Birch July 31, 2017
Public Participation
Using Minecraft to engage the public and plan better public spaces
How a popular video game became an urban planning tool.
Carlin Carr July 28, 2017
United Nations
U.N. resolution seen as key win for New Urban Agenda’s contentious rights language
Move creates a beachhead that will allow for a deeper discussion of cities at the Human Rights Council, said one diplomat.
Gregory Scruggs July 27, 2017
Disaster Response
Lessons from the aftermath: What 6 countries can tell us about how to recover from disaster
What six countries can tell us about how to recover from disaster.
Christopher Swope July 26, 2017
Implementation
3 lessons from Brazil on how to deliver on the SDGs — sans national government
Amid upheaval at the national level, cities and civil society are pressing forward with plans to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. In this, they see the goals as importantly apolitical.
Gregory Scruggs July 25, 2017
Idea Exchange
What a city in Spain learned from Sweden about promoting local food and healthier eating
When two small towns got talking, what emerged was a new Mediterranean recipe for food procurement.
Amy Labarrière July 21, 2017
Implementation
Need a guide for regional SDGs implementation? Look to Belgium and Kenya.
‘Localizing’ the Sustainable Development Goals isn’t about cities alone. States, provinces and other regions are just as important, notes new report.
Gregory Scruggs July 20, 2017
Interview
Urban planning — linchpin for sustainable urban development?
“The lesson is about more restraint,” says ISOCARP vice-president and planner Martin Dubbeling.
Gregory Scruggs July 19, 2017
A Global Role for Cities
With Local 2030, the U.N. seeks to turbocharge its engagement with cities
The initiative unveiled a broad vision to break down barriers to local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals — and an expectation of real results.
Carey L. Biron July 18, 2017
Migration
What refugees living in cities need
Nine years ago, Robert Hakiza fled an African war zone. Now, he lives in Kampala, advocating on behalf of a growing number of refugees living in Uganda's capital.
Christopher Swope July 18, 2017
Commentary
Why should companies be interested in sustainable cities? Here are 3.7 trillion reasons.
The Sustainable Development Goals will help produce more stable and equitable markets for business to prosper — and their implementation in cities could generate tremendous private-sector opportunities.
Toby Brennan and Fraser Thompson July 17, 2017
Informal Settlements
How to solve the Global South’s urban housing crisis
A new report from the World Resources Institute highlights changes needed to build cities without slums.
Patralekha Chatterjee July 14, 2017
Health
Lessons and challenges as Indian cities step up planning for heat waves
Since Ahmedabad developed a pioneering Heat Action Plan in 2013, another 17 cities have followed. The efforts are starting to make an impact.
Patralekha Chatterjee July 13, 2017
Renewable Energy
The keys to meeting Africa’s growing urban energy needs
Electricity only reaches a fraction of the population in many major African cities. A new report suggests changes that will be needed as cities and energy demands grow.
David Hatch July 12, 2017
Interview
A new way to verify the real impacts of climate action in cities
The Gold Standard unveils a new certification for sustainable urban development.
Carey L. Biron July 11, 2017
United Nations
As nations assess progress on SDGs, questions linger about the cities goal
The international community will focus on cities at next year’s SDGs review. Before that, the urban community is looking for strengthened coordination on SDG 11.
Carey L. Biron July 10, 2017
Commentary
Where is the local voice in the SDGs review process?
The annual assessment, which starts this week, is failing to address “localization” of the global goals.
UCLG World Secretariat and its Capacity Building Working Group July 10, 2017
Food Security
Lessons from five cities on urban food policy
A report calls on cities to look at Amsterdam, Belo Horizonte, Detroit, Nairobi and Toronto for inspiration.
David Hatch July 5, 2017
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