Global Urban Sustainable Development Goal finally adopted!

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by UN member states in 2000 have successfully focused world attention and action on ending extreme poverty in all its forms. The fifteen-year MDG period will be completed at the end of 2015.

Urbanization will be the defining trend over the next several decades. Cities are home to extreme deprivation and environmental degradation with one billion people living in slums. At the same time, roughly 75% of global economic activity is urban, and as the urban population grows, so will the urban share of global GDP and investments.

The Campaign for an Urban SDG has been launched because the dynamism of cities represents a major sustainable development opportunity and a dedicated and stand-alone urban SDG is essential to mobilize stakeholders, promoted integrated, city-level approaches, and accelerate progress towards sustainable development, including the end of extreme poverty.

After weeks of hard negotiations, the UN Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) finally concluded its Thirteenth and final session in New York on the 19th of July 2014.

An urban SDG, “Goal 11: Make Cities and Human Settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” was included in the final document (see page 15 of the attached official document).

This is a remarkable collective achievement of/for the urban community, a big step forward since the lost opportunity of urban convergence of the Millennium Development Goals, especially given the OWG was given the kickoff 18 months ago and the Urban SDG Campaign was launched in New York in September 2013.

There is still a lot to do before the ink finally dries at UNGA 2016 but it seems that now it's little until the implementation of Urban SDG at city and regional level

Find the principal post-2015 processes and actors on SDSN Website

Follow the hashtag #UrbanSDG on Twitter