1
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. B. Abraham, S. D. Iyer (eds.), Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American
Cities, Sustainable Development Goals Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59173-1_1
Introduction: Localizing SDGs
and Empowering Cities
and Communities in North
America for Sustainability
David B. Abraham and Seema D. Iyer
1.1
The Sustainable
Development Goals
In September 2015, the member countries of the
United Nations adopted the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), which defined new
standards for a global commitment to the three
interrelated pillars/objectives: economic development, social development, and environmental
development. The SDGs form a cohesive and
integrated package of global aspirations framed
as Goals that individual countries commit to
achieve by 2030. The 17 SDGs address the most
pressing global challenges of our time, calling
upon collaborative partnerships across and
between countries to address universal, integrated challenges to sustainable development.
The SDGs include goals for addressing job loss,
deteriorating infrastructure, social exclusion, and
climate change, among many other issues facing
societies today. The SDG agenda comes at a time
when more than half of the world’s population
lives in urban areas. As this portion of the population grows at a rapid speed, so too do the complex
development challenges in these locations.
The SDGs can provide a long-term and sustainable approach to city planning by providing
a suite of clear, common, and objective Goals
that can be continuously pursued irrespective of
political cycles. Ensuring full ownership of the
goals through an inclusive, participatory dialogue is of paramount importance to the success of the SDG agenda. The goals must
ultimately act as the common language for government, business, and citizens and represent a
shared ideal to be pursued at the city level but
also within each community. The SDGs, therefore, must be localized through a fully representative and inclusive participatory planning
process.
1.2
Overview of the Sustainable
Development Goals
The SDGs provide a comprehensive and inclusive framework for sustainable development that
can be utilized by local stakeholders as a guide
for community planning. The history and main
principles of the SDGs are outlined below.
“Getting Started with the SDGs in Cities: A
Guide for Stakeholders
1
” summarizes the SDGs
as follows:
1 Prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions
Network, 2016.
D. B. Abraham
Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
e-mail: DAbraham@Rice.edu
S. D. Iyer (*)
University of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
e-mail: siyer@ubalt.edu
1
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. B. Abraham, S. D. Iyer (eds.), Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals in North American
Cities, Sustainable Development Goals Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59173-1_1
Introduction: Localizing SDGs
and Empowering Cities
and Communities in North
America for Sustainability
David B. Abraham and Seema D. Iyer
1.1
The Sustainable
Development Goals
In September 2015, the member countries of the
United Nations adopted the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), which defined new
standards for a global commitment to the three
interrelated pillars/objectives: economic development, social development, and environmental
development. The SDGs form a cohesive and
integrated package of global aspirations framed
as Goals that individual countries commit to
achieve by 2030. The 17 SDGs address the most
pressing global challenges of our time, calling
upon collaborative partnerships across and
between countries to address universal, integrated challenges to sustainable development.
The SDGs include goals for addressing job loss,
deteriorating infrastructure, social exclusion, and
climate change, among many other issues facing
societies today. The SDG agenda comes at a time
when more than half of the world’s population
lives in urban areas. As this portion of the population grows at a rapid speed, so too do the complex
development challenges in these locations.
The SDGs can provide a long-term and sustainable approach to city planning by providing
a suite of clear, common, and objective Goals
that can be continuously pursued irrespective of
political cycles. Ensuring full ownership of the
goals through an inclusive, participatory dialogue is of paramount importance to the success of the SDG agenda. The goals must
ultimately act as the common language for government, business, and citizens and represent a
shared ideal to be pursued at the city level but
also within each community. The SDGs, therefore, must be localized through a fully representative and inclusive participatory planning
process.
1.2
Overview of the Sustainable
Development Goals
The SDGs provide a comprehensive and inclusive framework for sustainable development that
can be utilized by local stakeholders as a guide
for community planning. The history and main
principles of the SDGs are outlined below.
“Getting Started with the SDGs in Cities: A
Guide for Stakeholders
1
” summarizes the SDGs
as follows:
1 Prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions
Network, 2016.
D. B. Abraham
Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
e-mail: DAbraham@Rice.edu
S. D. Iyer (*)
University of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
e-mail: siyer@ubalt.edu
1