Abstract
Many cities throughout the world face multidimensional problems that need to be addressed to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With more than 50% of the world’s population that currently lives in cities and a growing trend of urbanization expected to continue in the coming decades, cities must be well equipped to face multiple challenges. Developing countries, in particular, face serious problems, as cities are expected to overgrow. With already large populations living in slums and deplorable conditions, many of the challenges, such as freshwater supplies, sewage, and public health, will affect cities the most. Cities and urban local governments play, therefore, an essential role in the implementation efforts of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Cities are critical in ensuring access to basic services, engaging people in decisions that affect their lives, creating opportunities for prosperity and well-being for all, especially for the urban poor, and protecting the environment. The implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires active policy interventions, innovative solutions, and new mindsets to overcome current challenges and ensure effective, inclusive, and accountable governance institutions at all levels. This chapter presents the global context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development (Sect. 1), urban trends and challenges facing cities (Sect. 2), critical role of local governments and cities in localizing the Agenda (Sect. 3) and a holistic approach to developing inclusive and innovative capacities for urban governance with examples from around the world (Sect. 4). The chapter concludes with key recommendations on how cities can build capacities to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development effectively.
The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
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In his remarks at the Development Committee the UN SG, Antonio Guterres, emphasized that “we face a set of megatrends that are changing the context of our efforts—such as climate change, urbanization, migration, demographic changes, and the rapid technological change—including artificial intelligence—driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution”. https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2018-10-13/remarks-development-committee.
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Voluntary National Reviews Database, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/.
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A/RES/71/256: New urban Agenda: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_71_256.pdf.
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Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature (UCN) as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”.
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Voluntary National Reviews Database, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/.
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Toyama City the Sustainable Development Goals Report—Compact City Planning based on Polycentric Transport Networks—2018-https://www.local2030.org/library/478/Toyama-City-the-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-Compact-City-Planning-based-on-Polycentric-Transport-Networks.pdf.
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Shimokawa Town the Sustainable Development Goals Report -The Shimokawa Challenge: Connecting people and nature with the future-, https://iges.or.jp/en/publication_documents/pub/policyreport/en/6571/Shimokawa_SDGsReport_EN_0713.pdf.
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Kitakyushu City the Sustainable Development Goals Report—Fostering a trusted Green Growth City with true wealth and prosperity, contributing to the world—2018; https://iges.or.jp/en/publication_documents/pub/policyreport/en/6569/Kitakyushu_SDGreport_EN_201810.pdf.
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2019 New York City’s Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/international/downloads/pdf/International-Affairs-VLR-2019.pdf.
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The 2019 VLR was based on OneNYC 2050 developed by the Mayor’s Office of Climate Policy and Programs. In 2015, the city launched “One New York” a plan that aims to make New York city “the most resilient, equitable, and sustainable city in the world”. In 2018, NYC announced it would become the first city in the world to present a review of its progress during the United Nations during the HLPF. In its VLR NYC shows sustainable development achievements since 2015, using the SDG framework.
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Santana de Parnaíba 2030 Vision Connected to the Future; https://iges.or.jp/en/vlr/santana_de_parnaiba.
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Bristol and the SDGs A Voluntary Local review of progress 2019 https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/cabot-institute-2018/documents/BRISTOL%20AND%20THE%20SDGs.pdf.
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Idem.
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Voluntary Local Review Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Buenos Aires; https://iges.or.jp/sites/default/files/inline-files/buenos_aires_voluntary_local_review_1_0.pdf.
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Los Angeles Sustainable Development Goals, A Voluntary Local Review of Progress in 2019, https://sdg.lamayor.org/sites/g/files/wph1131/f/LA%27s_Voluntary_Local_Review_of_SDGs_2019.pdf.
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Innovation in Governance, replicating what works, UN DESA, 2006 https://publicadministration.un.org/publications/content/PDFs/E-Library%20Archives/2006%20Innovations%20in%20Governance_Replicating%20What.%20Works.pdf.
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“If a country must be transformed to achieve sustainable development and embrace a good society, transformational leadership must be pervasive in the entire society i.e. in public, private, civil society sectors at local, national and community levels” (Kauzya 2017).
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2017 UNPSA Winner. 2017 UNPSA Updated Fact: Sheets. http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/Internet/Documents/UNPAN97341.pdf.
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2012 United Nations Public Service Forum United Nations Public Service Day, United Nations Public Service Awards ceremony, Workshop 1, institutions and leadership capacities to innovate and engage citizens in service delivery, Aide Memoire.
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IDC’s Digital Transformation (DX) Awards honors “Digitalization Plan—Exploit data and analytics for smart digital planning” https://www.idcdxawards.com/award/urban-redevelopment-authority-sg/.
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Participation is a fundamental right. Please see the Universal Declaration of Human Rights https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.
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2017 UNPSA Winner, https://publicadministration.un.org/en/UNPSA.
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“The human rights-based approach focuses on those who are most marginalized, excluded or discriminated against. This often requires an analysis of gender norms, different forms of discrimination and power imbalances to ensure that interventions reach the most marginalized segments of the population”, please see United Nations Population Fund https://www.unfpa.org/human-rights-based-approach.
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The “Right to the City” and the New Urban Agenda; http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/policy-briefs/the-right-to-the-city-and-the-new-urban-agenda/.
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Local and Regional Governments’ Report to the 2018 HLPF—https://www.uclg.org/sites/default/files/towards_the_localization_of_the_sdgs.pdf.
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https://zeroproject.org/practice/at-the-nexus-of-architecture-and-social-work-in-rio/ and UN DESA/DSPD Forum: Disability and development—Disability Inclusion and Accessible Urban Development, Appendix.
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Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards; https://center.noah.up.edu.ph/.
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Punjab’s model of m-governance: https://tribune.com.pk/story/631041/punjabs-model-of-m-governance/.
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Idem.
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Idem.
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Implementation of General Assembly resolution 61/16 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council Report of the Secretary-General, Bridging the knowledge gap: using the Council for “thought leadership” (C22) https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/67/736.
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The UNPSA has collected more than 250 winning cases of innovative projects that are transferrable to other contexts.
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ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information Technology, Smart Cities, Preliminary Report, 2014; https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/developing_standards/docs/en/smart_cities_report-jtc1.pdf and UNECE and ITU, October 2015, https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/ssc/Pages/info-ssc.aspx.
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“Broadband refers to telecommunications in which band of frequencies is available to transmit information. As a result, more information can be transmitted in a given amount of time” (UN World Public Sector Report 2003, page 4).
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Alberti, A., Senese, M. (2020). Developing Capacities for Inclusive and Innovative Urban Governance. In: Cheema, S. (eds) Governance for Urban Services. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2973-3_6
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