United Nations SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The United Nations set up seventeen goals in 2015, related to global development, to be achieved by 2030, which work as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all and are collectively known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The eleventh on the list is, Sustainable Cities and Communities, which aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, by 2030. With the increasing population size and to accommodate every individual’s needs, there is a growing need for building intelligent, safe and affordable cities that aid sustainable development.

Often, when the goal is discussed, irrespective of the forums, the specific sub-goals under SDG 11 are rarely discussed and are not addressed.  The awareness of the following sub-goals is crucial since they help us plan, analyse and determine the fulfilment of the goal of reducing inequalities.

1. Safe and affordable housing

2. Affordable and sustainable transport systems

3. Inclusive and sustainable urbanisation

4. Protect the world’s cultural and natural heritage

5. Reduce the adverse effects of natural disasters

6. Reduce the environmental impact of cities

7. Provide access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces

8. Strong national and regional development planning

9. Implement policies for inclusion, resource efficiency and disaster risk reduction

10. Support least developed countries in sustainable and resilient building

These provide an overview of the various areas that need to be worked upon – which are multifaceted. There is a need to investigate these holistically to address sustainable transportation, heritage protection, sustainable urbanisation, and so on.

Apart from these, the fulfilment of this SDG goal would be responsible for the fulfilment of the other SDG goals of the UN viz affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and partnership for the goals, etc as it would help in creating better platform to focus on other goals.

Based on these, individuals, organisations, and governments across the globe need to establish their strategies on the goals as well as sub-goals to bring in a focussed approach to the eradication of social evils in specific communities.

In this series of articles, we will discuss each SDG in detail to understand the role of countries and stakeholders in fulfilling these sustainable development goals.