Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11 or Global Goal 11), titled "Sustainable Cities and Communities," is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The official goal of SDG 11 is to "Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable." The 17 SDGs recognize that actions in one area can affect other areas, and that development must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
SDG 11 includes 10 targets to achieve, which are measured using 15 indicators. The seven outcome targets focus on safe and affordable housing, affordable and sustainable transportation, inclusive and sustainable urban growth, protecting cultural and natural heritage, reducing the negative effects of natural disasters, lowering the environmental impact of cities, and providing access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces. The three implementation targets include strong national and regional planning, policies that promote inclusion, resource efficiency, and disaster risk reduction to support the least developed countries in building sustainable and resilient structures.
About 4.3 billion people, which is 55% of the world’s population, live in cities today. It is expected that 68% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. Cities cover only 3% of Earth’s land but use 60–80% of the world’s energy and produce 75% of global carbon emissions. This creates serious challenges for cities to remain safe, functional, and able to meet growing future needs.
Background
SDG 11 focuses on improving slums, managing and planning human settlements, reducing and preparing for climate change, and supporting urban economies. Before the 2030 Agenda was adopted, Millennium Development Goal 7, target 4, aimed to improve the lives of at least 100 million people living in slums by 2020.
There has been a fast increase in the number of very large cities, especially in developing countries. In 1990, there were ten cities with 10 million or more people. By 2014, there were 28 such cities, housing 453 million people. Regarding slums, data shows that 828 million people live in slums today, and most of them are in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.
SDG 11 shows a change in how countries work together to address poverty. Previously, the focus was mainly on rural areas, but now it recognizes that cities, especially in the global south, face serious challenges, including extreme poverty, harm to the environment, and risks from climate change and natural disasters.
Targets, indicators and progress
The United Nations (UN) has set 10 goals and 15 measures for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. Goals describe what needs to be achieved, and measures show how progress will be tracked. Six goals must be reached by 2030, one by 2020, and three have no specific year. Each goal has one or two measures to check progress.
Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to safe, affordable housing and basic services, and improve slums.
This goal has one measure: "Proportion of the urban population living in slum households."
People in slums lack access to clean water, sanitation, enough living space, and durable homes. In 2022, about 1 billion people lived in urban slums.
Target 11.2: By 2030, provide safe, affordable, and accessible transport for all, improving road safety, especially for vulnerable groups like women, children, and people with disabilities.
This goal has one measure: "Proportion of the population with convenient access to public transport, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities."
Transport systems must consider the needs of people with physical or mental challenges, as 25% of the population faces reduced mobility due to these factors. Planning transport and land use together helps ensure accessibility for all.
Target 11.3: By 2030, improve inclusive and sustainable urbanization and planning in all countries.
This goal has two measures:
1. "Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate."
2. "Proportion of cities with regular, democratic civil society involvement in urban planning."
The second measure is hard to calculate, as no data is available for it.
Target 11.4: Protect and preserve the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
This goal has one measure: "Total per capita spending on heritage preservation, by funding source, heritage type, and government level."
This measure is also hard to calculate, as no data is available. Many World Heritage Sites in danger are located in war zones, such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen. Threats include war, vandalism, and poor management.
Target 11.5: By 2030, reduce deaths and economic losses from disasters, especially for vulnerable groups.
This goal has two measures:
1. "Number of deaths, missing persons, and affected people per 100,000 population due to disasters."
2. "Direct economic losses from disasters as a percentage of global GDP, and damage to infrastructure."
Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce cities’ environmental impact, focusing on air quality and waste management.
This goal has two measures:
1. "Proportion of municipal waste collected and managed in controlled facilities."
2. "Annual average levels of fine particulate matter (like PM 2.5 and PM 10) in cities."
Target 11.7: By 2030, provide access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green spaces for all, especially women, children, and people with disabilities.
This goal has two measures:
1. "Average share of open public space in cities."
2. "Proportion of people who experienced physical or sexual harassment in the past year."
Target 11.a: Support connections between urban, rural, and peri-urban areas through better planning.
This goal has one measure: "Number of countries with national urban policies or regional plans that address population changes and ensure balanced development."
This measure is key for tracking urbanization but has no available data.
The New Urban Agenda, adopted in 2016, provides standards for sustainable city development.
Target 11.b: By 2020, increase the number of cities using integrated policies to address inclusion, climate change, and disaster risk, following the Sendai Framework.
This goal has two measures:
1. "Number of countries with national disaster risk reduction strategies."
2. "Proportion of local governments with local disaster risk reduction plans."
Challenges include poor data collection and lack of government mandates for disaster reporting.
Target 11.c: Support least developed countries in building sustainable and resilient buildings using local materials.
This goal has one measure: "Indicator 11.c.1" (specific details not provided in the original text).
Monitoring
The United Nations Secretary-General prepares annual progress reports each year to assess how well the world is meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The most recent report was published in 2021. The report before that was released in April 2020.
In 2018, the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) reviewed progress on the SDGs. It discussed how far the world has come, what has worked well, what challenges remain, and what lessons have been learned in the effort to create a more just, peaceful, and prosperous world and a healthy planet by 2030. SDG 11 was one of six SDGs examined in detail during this meeting.
Progress toward achieving SDG 11 has slowed down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The direct and indirect effects of the pandemic have made it less likely that this goal will be met on time.
All United Nations member states are working to track their progress in carrying out the 2030 Agenda and its goals. Nearly all member states have shared their national progress on the SDGs through Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). However, despite the importance of cities in the sustainable development framework, few efforts have been made to measure progress toward the SDGs at the city level.
Challenges
Cities in many countries were centers of the COVID-19 outbreak. About 60% of all COVID-19 cases were found in urban areas, showing how cities helped spread the virus. Crowded conditions and high movement of people in cities contributed to the spread of the disease through airborne particles, droplets from coughs or sneezes, and contaminated surfaces.
The pandemic revealed long-standing inequalities in cities, which affected groups like migrants, homeless people, and those living in poor urban areas. To achieve the goals of SDG 11 after the pandemic, governments, communities, and organizations must work together.
During the crisis, cities played a key role in helping economies recover, supporting innovation, and driving social and economic change. Technologies used in smart cities helped cities stay strong by sharing information quickly, reducing risks, and improving planning, preparedness, and ability to adapt.
Links with other SDGs
SDG 11 connects with several other SDGs. It helps improve the health of people who live in cities (SDG 3, Target 3.9) and makes cities more resilient to natural disasters and climate change. It is also related to SDG 6 (Targets 6.1, 6.2, and 6.5), SDG 12 (Target 12.4), and SDG 14 (Target 14.3). Additionally, it helps reduce the effects of diseases that spread easily, as well as deaths among mothers and children (SDG 3, Targets 3.2 and 3.3).
SDG 11 also connects with SDG 13, which focuses on climate action. Cities are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of energy use and 75 percent of carbon emissions. This is because 55 percent of the world’s population, or about 4.2 billion people, lived in cities in 2018.
Organizations
The following organizations are involved in monitoring urban-environment related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) projects and other initiatives:
- United for Smart Sustainable Cities Initiative (U4SSC), which has been tested to track progress on SDGs related to cities and the environment
- Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
- UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
- UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
- United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)
- United Nations Human Settlements Programme
The following NGOs and other groups are helping to achieve SDG 11:
- C40 Cities is a group of large cities worldwide that work together to address climate change. It helps cities take strong steps to fight climate change and create a more sustainable future. C40 also provides a good place for cities to share ideas and work together on climate action.
- ICLEI works to create sustainable cities and regions. It helps members make their cities and areas low-carbon, resilient, ecomobile, biodiverse, resource-efficient, and healthy, with a green economy and smart infrastructure.
- 100RC, created by the Rockefeller Foundation, helps cities become more resilient to physical, social, and economic problems. It supports efforts to address both sudden events, like earthquakes and floods, and ongoing challenges that weaken cities over time.
Examples at country level
The Canadian federal government has given $10 billion CAD over three years to the Canadian Infrastructure Bank to invest in environment-friendly projects across the country. These projects focus on areas like public transportation, renewable energy, and improving older buildings. The government is meeting its goals under SDG 11.2 and SDG 11a by spending $1.5 billion on public transit and adding 5,000 buses within the next five years. This is part of a plan to address inequalities between urban and rural areas in Canada. However, the percentage of the urban population living in inadequate housing slightly increased from 12.5% in 2011 to 12.7% in 2016, showing progress is not being made toward reducing the number of people living in poor housing conditions.