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12.1 Introduction
While launching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Ban Ki-Moon, the
former Secretary-General of the United Nations, noted that ‘Cities are where the
battle for sustainable development will be won or lost’ (Fabre 2017, p. 4).
Urbanization has become a defining phenomenon of the twenty-first century, as we
are increasingly living in an urban world. In 1950, the world was predominantly
rural, as global urbanization level was 30%. By 2050, the scenario is projected to
reverse, as urbanization level is expected to reach 70% (UN 2018).
Cities are the hubs of innovation, employment and wealth generation. Urban
areas already account for 55% of the global population and produce 85% of the
global GDP. But the way the processes of urbanization are unfolding is also deeply
problematic. Urban wastes are polluting our air, water and soil resources, and cities
account for 75% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the issues of global
sustainability cannot be addressed, without strongly addressing the question of
urban sustainability.
Recognizing the importance of the cities in contemporary world, the UN General
Assembly in 2015 decided to adopt ‘sustainable cities and communities’ as a distinct goal (SDG 11) under Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030). The overarching aim of SDG 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable. Recent global policy discourses orchestrated under the
aegis of the United Nations, such as COP 24, Paris Agreement (UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change) and the New Urban Agenda of UN Habitat stress
upon the need for concerted focus at the city and the community scale – not only to
achieve long-term developmental objectives but also to make direct tangible benefits to the quality of lives of the people.
This chapter focuses on SDG 11 as the analytical framework to explore how the
transformative force of urbanization represents opportunity and challenge to meet
several other sustainability challenges. The research highlights research and action
points for urban governance systems to mainstream sustainability concerns through
their local planning and development mechanism. The Sustainable Development
Goals have adopted a comprehensive systems approach. The targets and indicators
of the 17 SDGs are tied in such a manner that pursuance of one goal often leads to
cascading benefits. City as a spatial platform offers opportunities to address sustainability concerns in a range of sectoral infrastructure domains, such as transportation, energy, water, education and healthcare through regulatory, fiscal, planning
and managerial instruments. Consequently, SDG 11 has robust linkages with several other SDGs. For example, LED street lighting, which reduce urban municipal
expenditure, also contribute towards energy efficiency (SDG 7) and promote sustainable production and consumption (SDG 12).
The global goals set under SDG 11 vitally depend on their integration with the
local developmental agenda for effective implementation and to make tangible differences in the everyday lives of people. SDG is closely aligned with the New Urban
Agenda (NUA), which was adopted at the Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador, in
H. Vaidya and T. Chatterji
12.1 Introduction
While launching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Ban Ki-Moon, the
former Secretary-General of the United Nations, noted that ‘Cities are where the
battle for sustainable development will be won or lost’ (Fabre 2017, p. 4).
Urbanization has become a defining phenomenon of the twenty-first century, as we
are increasingly living in an urban world. In 1950, the world was predominantly
rural, as global urbanization level was 30%. By 2050, the scenario is projected to
reverse, as urbanization level is expected to reach 70% (UN 2018).
Cities are the hubs of innovation, employment and wealth generation. Urban
areas already account for 55% of the global population and produce 85% of the
global GDP. But the way the processes of urbanization are unfolding is also deeply
problematic. Urban wastes are polluting our air, water and soil resources, and cities
account for 75% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the issues of global
sustainability cannot be addressed, without strongly addressing the question of
urban sustainability.
Recognizing the importance of the cities in contemporary world, the UN General
Assembly in 2015 decided to adopt ‘sustainable cities and communities’ as a distinct goal (SDG 11) under Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030). The overarching aim of SDG 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable. Recent global policy discourses orchestrated under the
aegis of the United Nations, such as COP 24, Paris Agreement (UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change) and the New Urban Agenda of UN Habitat stress
upon the need for concerted focus at the city and the community scale – not only to
achieve long-term developmental objectives but also to make direct tangible benefits to the quality of lives of the people.
This chapter focuses on SDG 11 as the analytical framework to explore how the
transformative force of urbanization represents opportunity and challenge to meet
several other sustainability challenges. The research highlights research and action
points for urban governance systems to mainstream sustainability concerns through
their local planning and development mechanism. The Sustainable Development
Goals have adopted a comprehensive systems approach. The targets and indicators
of the 17 SDGs are tied in such a manner that pursuance of one goal often leads to
cascading benefits. City as a spatial platform offers opportunities to address sustainability concerns in a range of sectoral infrastructure domains, such as transportation, energy, water, education and healthcare through regulatory, fiscal, planning
and managerial instruments. Consequently, SDG 11 has robust linkages with several other SDGs. For example, LED street lighting, which reduce urban municipal
expenditure, also contribute towards energy efficiency (SDG 7) and promote sustainable production and consumption (SDG 12).
The global goals set under SDG 11 vitally depend on their integration with the
local developmental agenda for effective implementation and to make tangible differences in the everyday lives of people. SDG is closely aligned with the New Urban
Agenda (NUA), which was adopted at the Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador, in
H. Vaidya and T. Chatterji