Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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

Sustainable Cities & Communities


Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically. With the number of people living within cities projected to rise to 5 billion people by 2030, it’s important that efficient urban planning and management practices are in place to deal with the challenges brought by urbanization.

Many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity without straining land and resources. Common urban challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing, declining infrastructure and rising air pollution within cities.

Rapid urbanization challenges, such as the safe removal and management of solid waste within cities, can be overcome in ways that allow them to continue to thrive and grow, while improving resource use and reducing pollution and poverty. One such example is an increase in municipal waste collection. There needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.

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

World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization

WeGO Seoul Korea Rep B

World Society for Ekistics

WSE 1963 Pune India C v

World Society for Transport and Land Use Research

WSTLUR Montréal QC Canada C

World Society of Victimology

WSV 1979 Holden Hill SA Australia C

world stainless association

worldstainless 1995 Brussels Belgium F y

World Student Community for Sustainable Development

WSC-SD 2002 Cambridge MA USA F

World Sturgeon Conservation Society

WSCS 2003 Neu Wulmstorf Germany D

World Summit on Accessible Tourism

S c

World Toilet Association

WTA 2007 Suwon Korea Rep D

World Toilet Organization

WTO 2001 Singapore Singapore D

World Tourism Alliance

WTA 2017 Beijing China C

World Tourism Association

WTA 2014 Gwangju Korea Rep C

World Tourism Cities Federation

WTCF 2012 Beijing China C

World Tourism Education and Research Centre

WTERC 1989 Calgary AB Canada G

World Tourism Forum

Salvador Brazil F

World Tourism Forum Lucerne

Lucerne Switzerland G

World Tourism Network

WTN 2020 Honolulu HI USA B y

World Tourism Organization

UNWTO 1975 Madrid Spain B gy

World Transporter Bridges Association

2003 D

World Travel and Tourism Council

WTTC 1990 London UK F v

World Union for Progressive Judaism

WUPJ 1926 Jerusalem Israel C v

World Union of Olympic Cities

2002 Lausanne Switzerland E

World Urban Campaign

WUC Nairobi Kenya E

World Urban Parks

2015 Edmonton AB Canada C

World Veterinary Association

WVA 1959 Brussels Belgium A y

World Villages for Children

1964 London UK N

World Waterpark Association

WWA 1980 Overland Park KS USA G

World Wide Hearing

WWHearing 2003 Montréal QC Canada E

World Winter Cities Association for Mayors

WWCAM 1982 Sapporo Japan D

World Women's Security Council

WWSC J p

World Working Group on Birds of Prey and Owls

WWGBP 1970 E

World's Children

1965 Corvallis OR USA N

WorldFish

1975 Bayan Lepas Malaysia E

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

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