Forefronting local and regional government actions to achieve SDG11

How are local and regional governments (LRGs) contributing to the localisation of SDG11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities? Which major trends in housing, participatory planning, environmental conditions, and governance do they need to confront and transform to accelerate progress towards just and sustainable cities and territories?

The DPU´s Caren Levy, Adriana Allen, and Daniel Oviedo together with Camila Cociña, Alexandre Apsan Frediani (IIED) and Julia Wesely contributed four papers to a report, which was produced by the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF), and facilitated by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The report builds on the GOLD VI process strengthening the relations between LRGs, organised civil society and local communities, while advancing a common advocacy agenda at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and beyond.

Among other issues, the report contributes to advocacy for rights-based and feminist approaches; for institutional and regulatory frameworks that seek to decentralise powers, responsibilities and resources based on subsidiarity principles; and for meaningful, inclusive and transparent citizen engagement mechanisms. Moreover, the report draws from, and deepens, the evidence provided in GOLD VI chapters, both regarding the structural inequalities that currently hamper and sometimes even revert progress towards SDG11, as well as the diverse and transformative actions taken by LRGs, often in partnerships with organised civil society.

The report focuses on advancing progressive municipalism through policies and practices in five key areas:

• Recognising, protecting and fulfilling the right to housing and basic services (see Paper 1: Housing and basic services from below by Camila Cociña and Alexandre Apsan Frediani) 
• Fostering urban planning to reduce fragmentation and segregation (see Paper 2: Integrated and participatory urban planning by Daniel Oviedo)
• Crafting environmental justice through commoning and de-coupling approaches (see Paper 3: Forefronting transformative action by Adriana Allen and Julia Wesely
• Acting on cultural dimensions to accelerate SDG implementation (see Paper 4: A cultural boost in the achievement of the SDGs by UCLG Committee on Culture)
• Advancing effective multilevel governance (see Paper 5: Multilevel governance and finance by Caren Levy)

You can download the report here: Towards the localization of the SDGs