Cities need to accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda, UN-Habitat warns

National and local authorities are making "uneven progress" toward making cities safe, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable by 2030, warned UN-Habitat at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), the primary UN platform for sustainable development and tracking the 2030 Agenda.

This is the main conclusion of the report produced by the agency and its partners to monitor the 2030 Agenda, an action plan adopted in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly to end poverty and hunger through 17 global goals.

Regarding Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11), the report notes that "cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically," but warns that without proper planning or regulation, urban development will lead to "exorbitant levels of poverty, crime, pollution, and disease," according to the UN-Habitat office in Spain.

The agency's projections estimate that by 2030, more than 700 cities worldwide will house at least one million inhabitants. In this regard, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, stated that “urbanization is one of the most critical issues in sustainable development. We must ensure we get it right if we are to achieve the SDGs and move toward a world where we see an end to poverty, the protection of our planet, and everyone enjoying peace and prosperity.”

Sharif also pointed to the empowerment of women and girls as an effective tool for achieving the targets of SDG 11: 

If cities are also planned for women, urbanization can be a truly transformative force, challenging inequality and creating an environment that enables everyone to reach their own potential

The report presented by UN-Habitat during the HLPF —an event held in collaboration with the Andalusian Agency for International Development Cooperation (AACID)— states that while the proportion of people living in urban slums is declining globally, access to housing is "becoming less affordable," air pollution "is on the rise," and public transit is "still inadequate."

You can read the UN-Habitat report at this link. Via UN-Habitat.