Who Makes Cities Sustainable?: Mapping of Key Actors for Sustainable Development Goal 11

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - Environmental Policy, grade: 1,0, University of Toronto (Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy), language: English, abstract: Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is all about safe, resilient and sustainable cities. In this essay, I will identify and map the key actors that have a crucial influence in achieving movement on the Goal. Therefore, I will start in section two with a short introduction to the goal itself and the specific characteristics that determine which actors are relevant for it. In the third section, I will build up a framework based on different literature to identify and map the most important actors for Goal 11. In the following fourth section, I will use these results to take a closer look at four key actors and their possible contributions, before I will end with a conclusion. Urbanization is one of the most important developments of human civilization in the 21st century. In the middle of the 20th century, 30 % of people lived in the urban centers of the world. Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities, with an increase of up to 70 % expected by 2050. Cities are the main drivers of local and national economies and hubs of prosperity. More than 80 % of global economic activity is concentrated in cities. The speed and scale of urbanization, however, also pose enormous challenges. Widening income disparities, increasing ambient air pollution and aging infrastructure are only some of the signs that today's cities are struggling to keep pace with the growing number of urban dwellers and their dreams for a prosperous future.