Sustainable Development Goal 11
Sustainable Development Goal 11
Sustainable Development Goal 11: How to Make Cities Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable
Cities are home to more than half of the world's population and are expected to host nearly 70% by 2050. They are also hubs of economic activity, innovation and culture, generating about 80% of global GDP. However, cities also face many challenges, such as poverty, inequality, pollution, congestion, crime, disasters and climate change. These challenges threaten the well-being of urban dwellers and the sustainability of urban development.
That is why the United Nations adopted Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015. SDG 11 aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030. It has 10 targets and 15 indicators that cover various aspects of urban development, such as housing, transport, planning, heritage, environment, disasters and governance.
Some of the key targets of SDG 11 are:
- By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
- By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all.
- By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.
- Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
- By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters.
- By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities.
- By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces.
To achieve these targets, SDG 11 calls for the implementation of integrated policies and plans that promote inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters and holistic disaster risk management at all levels. It also calls for the support of positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning.
SDG 11 is closely linked to other SDGs that address issues such as poverty, health, education, gender equality, clean energy, decent work, climate action and peace. Therefore, achieving SDG 11 requires a coordinated and collaborative approach among all stakeholders, including governments, civil society, private sector, academia and international organizations.
The progress of SDG 11 is monitored by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) through a set of indicators that measure various aspects of urban development. According to the latest data available from UNSD, some of the achievements and challenges of SDG 11 are:
- In 2019, an estimated 23.5% of the world’s urban population lived in slums, down from 28.4% in 2000. However, the absolute number of slum dwellers increased from 807 million in 2000 to 1 billion in 2019, mainly due to rapid urbanization in developing regions.
- In 2018, only half of the world’s urban population had convenient access to public transport, defined as living within 500 metres’ walking distance from a low-capacity transport system (such as a bus stop) or within 1 km from a high-capacity transport system (such as a metro station). The access varied widely across regions, from over 80% in Europe to less than 20% in sub-Saharan Africa.
- In 2018, about three quarters of countries had a national urban policy or a regional development plan that addressed urbanization. However, only about half of them had legal frameworks or regulations that supported local authorities or stakeholders’ participation in urban planning.
- In 2019, there were more than 4.5 million cultural and natural heritage sites around the world, including those inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List or on national inventories. However, many of these sites faced threats from human activities or natural hazards.
- In the period from 1998 to 2017, more than two thirds of all disasters were caused by extreme weather events, such as floods, storms, droughts and heat waves. These disasters affected more than 4 billion people, mostly in Asia and Africa, and caused economic losses of about $1.6 trillion. Urban areas were particularly vulnerable to disasters due to their high concentration of population, infrastructure and economic activities.
- In 2018, the average annual mean concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in urban areas was 40.8 micrograms per cubic metre, more than four times the level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for protecting human health. Air pollution was especially severe in low- and middle-income countries, where 97% of cities did not meet the WHO guidelines.
- In 2018, about 2.5 billion people, or 32% of the world’s urban population, lived within 300 metres of a green space, such as a park, a garden or a playground. The availability of green space varied significantly across regions and cities, depending on factors such as population density, land use and planning policies.
As the world continues to urbanize, SDG 11 becomes more relevant and urgent than ever. Making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable is not only a goal in itself, but also a means to achieve other goals and to improve the quality of life for all people.
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