Over 80% of the world is expected to live in cities by 2050. The requires that cities become sustainable, compact, integrated, inclusive, resilient, safe & climate-ready by 2030. Most are not. If cities fail, we all fail.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The global framework guiding this process is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - signed in 2015 - that focuses on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main framework guiding sustainable development in cities is the New Urban Agenda, signed in 2016. Other important global agreements include the Paris Agreement on climate change (2015), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015) and the Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action on gender equality (1995).
Humankind faces an uncertain future, but not if we work together for an inclusive, sustainable and prosperous future.