Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Sustainable Cities & Communities


Goal 11 is about making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Cities represent the future of global living. The world’s population reached 8 billion on 2022 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. Approximately 1.1 billion people currently live in slums or slum-like conditions in cities, with 2 billion more expected in the next 30 years.

However many of these cities are not ready for this rapid urbanisation, and it outpaces the development of housing, infrastructure and services, which led to a rise in slums or slum-like conditions.

Urban sprawl, air pollution and limited open public spaces persist in cities.

Good progress has been made since the implementation of the SDGs began in 2015, and now the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies has doubled. But issues still remain and in 2022, only half of the urban population had convenient access to public transport.

Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way urban spaces are built and managed.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

Worldwide Collaborations on Autism Needs

WeCAN Singapore Singapore N

Worldwide Ferry Safety Association

WFSA 2008 Brooklyn NY USA D

Worldwide Life Quality Enhancement Association

Martigny Switzerland G

Worldwide Network of Artists Residencies

Res Artis 1993 Collingwood VIC Australia C

Worldwide Quality EXpress System /Network/

WQXS Network 1995 Brussels Belgium F

WORLDWISE

1991 Bainbridge Island WA USA N

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

1971 Portland OR USA G

YAAKAARE REDHRCC

1997 Geneva Switzerland G

Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center

1953 Jerusalem Israel G

YMCA Global Community Center

GCC Hiroshima Japan G

YMCA World Urban Network

YMCA/WUN E

Young Asian Biological Engineers’ Community

YABEC J c

YOUROPE - The European Festival Association

1998 Bonn Germany D

Youth and Environment Europe

YEE 1983 Prague Czechia E

Youth and European Social Work

YES Forum 2002 Stuttgart Germany F

Youth Express Network

Y-E-N 1993 Strasbourg France F

Youth for Habitat International Network

YFHIN 1995 Istanbul Türkiye F

Youth For Public Transport

Y4PT 2009 Sint-Jans-Molenbeek Belgium F

Youth for Road Safety

YOURS 2010 Culemborg Netherlands E

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action

YUVA 1984 Mumbai India G

Zeitz Foundation for Intercultural Ecosphere Safety

Zeitz Foundation 2008 Nairobi Kenya F f

Zentrum für Europäische Integrationsforschung

ZEI 1995 Bonn Germany G

Zentrum für Wissenschaftliche Kommunikation mit Ibero-America

Tübingen Germany G

Zero Energy Mass Custom Home Network

ZEMCH 2010 E

Zero Waste International Alliance

ZWIA 2003 J

Zircon Industry Association

ZIA London UK C t

Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia

1983 Mosman NSW Australia D

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