- SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

We are calling for articles to our new Collection on Sustainable cities and communities, in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goal: SDG 11. This collection creates a cross-disciplinary space for researchers and stakeholders working across various disciplines to address this significant global issue. We bring together scholarship and policy that makes a difference to the sustainability of cities and communities.

The aim of Goal 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The world’s population reached 8 billion in 2022 with over half living in urban areas. This figure is only expected to rise, with 70 per cent of people expected to live in cities by 2050. However many of these cities are not ready for this rapid urbanisation and urban sprawl, air pollution and limited open public spaces persist in cities. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way urban spaces are built and managed.

We are welcoming a range of perspectives including theoretical, methodological, quantitative and qualitative studies. Original Research and Review Papers are accepted. We are particularly interested in research that centers on the following topics:

By 2030, ensuring access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums

Providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons

- The enhancement of inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries

- Strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

- By 2030, a significant reduction in 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, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations

- A reduction in the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, in particular air quality and waste management

- By 2030, the provision of universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities

- The support of positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

- Substantially increasing the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change and resilience to disasters

- The support of least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials

We are interested to hear your ideas for short commentary or a collection of articles, please contact the journal of your choice directly to discuss this before submitting.

Submission Procedure:

Submission is possible to one of the participating journals on the right, please select TC: SDG11 - Sustainable cities and communities in the electronic submission portal. Accepted articles will be published in the respective journal, as well as highlighted on the Collection page.