Overview

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity with a commitment to leave no one behind. Its 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan. 

But halfway to 2030, that promise is in peril. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are disappearing in the rear-view mirror – and with them the hope and rights of current and future generations. A fundamental shift in needed – in commitment, solidarity, financing, and action - to put the world on a better path. And it is needed now. 

With nearly 70% of the world’s population living in cities by 2050, the future of humanity is urban. As such, even if the current crises are global in nature, their unfolding and main impacts have significant local dimensions. In most countries, local and regional governments are responsible for coordinating and delivering basic services, which are critical for ensuring local communities’ wellbeing and development. An OECD study noted that more than 65% of the SDG targets are related to the work and mandate of local governments. 

Being best positioned to represent their communities at the national and international decision-making tables due to their proximity and a better understanding of local needs and aspirations, solutions and ideas to promote solidarity are brought together by local governments themselves. As such, local and regional governments have been working to protect their communities even in the current complex times, trying to safeguard the most vulnerable, working to tackle inequalities, delivering gender-based responses, and making cities more inclusive. 

With more and more local governments and communities driving action and innovation for the SDGs, the centrality of localization has also been increasingly recognized within international and UN-led processes, events, and policies.[MRM1] 

The 2023 Report of the Secretary-General on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet, calls Member States and the international community to empower local and subnational governments while recognizing SDG Localization as a key approach to propel us towards sustainable development. Also, the 2023 High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB) second core recommendation refers specifically to cities and local and regional governments as playing a key role in today’s global governance “Localization should be explicitly part of national commitments on Agenda 2023”. 

All in all, the global solutions we need to tackle today’s universal challenges can only be achieved with a more inclusive and robust multilateralism in which local communities have a say and local and regional governments are fully recognized as transformative actors. SDG localization is the way forward.

UN-Habitat is driving the SDG Localization agenda since before the endorsement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is the UN agency leading the work with local and regional governments at the global level and the custodian of the New Urban Agenda and SDG 11. Mandated by the UN Secretary General and by its Member States, UN-Habitat coordinates some of the key UN mechanisms linked SDG Localization and local and regional governments

Our Mandate. In line with UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan, SDG localization is one of UN-Habitat Executive Director’s key priorities. In November 2021, UN-Habitat’s Executive Board endorsed the work of the Agency and mandated UN-Habitat to “actively advance the SDG localization in support of the Decade of Action, through normative guidance, technical assistance and strategic partnerships”.

Our Story. UN-Habitat has been at the forefront of SDG localization since the very endorsement of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. In 2014, in partnership with UNDP and Global Task Force of Local and Regional Governments (GTF), UN-Habitat led the global Dialogues on Localizing the Post-2015 Agenda, which culminated in the Turin Communique. UN-Habitat also endorsed the Localizing Agenda 21 (LA21) programme. Since then, UN-Habitat has been working to advance SDG localization by providing technical expertise to partners across the globe, by leading the development of cutting-edge research, by strengthening the capacities of local and regional governments, and by raising the voice of local governments and local actors within the main international and UN-led fora on SDGs.

Our Principles. UN-Habitat’ work on SDG localization is guided by a partnership-based territorial approach anchored on the principles of leaving no one and no place behind, multilevel governance, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and development effectiveness

Our Approach. UN-Habitat’s corporative approach on SDG localization is articulated around five main components:

• Global Urban Monitoring Framework (UMF) harmonizes existing urban indexes and tools and applies over 70 indicators to generate baseline data and the track performance of cities and region against performance indicators, domains, and city objectives.
• Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) are a process to monitor SDG achievement at the local level and powerful accelerators of the SDG localization process
• SDG Cities Flagship Programme, supports accelerated localization of the SDGs through a guided process for data collection, strategic planning, capacity building, project development, and financing.
• Multilevel governance provides a distinct lens on policymaking processes centered on cohesive leadership, vertical coherence and horizontal coordination for improved service delivery - by and among all spheres of governance.
• Local 2030 Coalition is the UN System-wide platform and network for supporting and accelerating the localization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Learn more about the UN-Habitat SDG Localization approach , including our projects

Mechanisms and Processes. UN-Habitat leads, coordinates or directly supports some of the key UN and international mechanisms and processes events linked to SDG localization and local and regional governments:

• The United Nations Advisory Committee on Local Authorities (UNACLA) was established by the Governing Council Resolution 17/18 of 1999 as an advisory body that would serve the purpose of strengthening the dialogue of the UN System with local authorities in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
• Our Common Agenda report was accompanied by the establishment of the Advisory Committee of Local and Regional Authorities, facilitated by the UN Task Force on the Future of Cities, in 2020. It is the only existing channel of interaction between the UN System and the local government constituency that has been formally approved by a UN Resolution, and it is chaired by UN-Habitat.
• The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF) convenes the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, the joint voice of local and regional leaders from around the world. The New Urban Agenda identifies the World Assembly to play a key role as the political voice of local and regional governments in the follow-up and review of the New Urban Agenda
• In the outcome document of the G20 Development Work Group, the Italian Presidency prioritized SDG Localization and intermediary cities as key focus of work and supported the creation of the G20 Platform on Localizing the SDGs.

Learn more about UN-Habitat’s political engagement

Conferences and events. UN-Habitat organizes, engages and facilitates the participation of local representatives and stakeholders in international and UN-led events.

• World Urban Forum (WUF) Held every two years and convened by UN-Habitat, is a high level, open and inclusive platform for addressing the challenges of sustainable urbanization. The 11th edition of the World Urban Forum was attended by over 1,645 local and regional government representatives, including 105 mayors.
• High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) It is the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global level. UN-Habitat engages during the HLPF, bringing local and regional governments at the forefront, for the last years, UN-Habitat and its partners have co-organized the Local and Regional Governments Forum (LRGF) as well as the VLR-VSR Days.
• Regional Forums for Sustainable Development (RFSD). Convened annually in the five regions of the world by the respective UN Regional Commissions, they are the key platforms at the regional level for policy debate, exchange of good practices and peer learning on SDG implementation. Aligned with the HLPF, they provide a space for member States in each region to discuss policy actions, practical solutions and challenges. UN-Habitat engages on the RFSD brining the local dimension, organizing and co-organizing sessions on SDG Localization and Voluntary Local Reviews.

Learn more about UN-Habitat events and conferences.

The Local2030 Coalition is the UN System-wide platform and network for supporting and accelerating the localization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We bring together the UN-System, local and regional governments and their associations, national governments, businesses, community-based organizations, and other local actors to mobilize, empower and support local stakeholders in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We also strengthen coordination within and beyond the UN-System by enabling multi-level and multi-stakeholder collaboration, which are essential to coherent and effective actions on complex and interlocking challenges.

A convening space to support partners in developing ideas and sharing tools and approaches to advance the 2030 Agenda everywhere. 

UN-Habitat is the permanent Local2030 Coalition Co-chair and leader of its Secretariat, together with UNDP, the first rotational Co-chair for 2022-2023.

Learn more about the Local 2030 Coalition.

A better quality of life for all in an urbanizing world.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. UN-Habitat is the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. UN-Habitat works with partners to build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. UN-Habitat promotes urbanization as a positive transformative force for people and communities, reducing inequality, discrimination and poverty.

UN-Habitat’s mission

UN-Habitat works in over 90 countries to promote transformative change in cities and human settlements through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance and collaborative action.

 UN-Habitat’s strategic plan 2020-2023 adopts a more strategic and integrated approach to solving the challenges and opportunities of twenty-first century cities and other human settlements. UN-Habitat’s mission embodies the four main roles of the organization, which can be summarized as: think, do, share, and partner. 

THINK: UN-Habitat’s normative work, including ground-breaking research and capacity-building, sets standards, proposes norms and principles, shares good practice, monitors global progress and supports formulation of policies related to sustainable cities and human settlements. 

DO: UN-Habitat’s operational work takes various forms of technical assistance, drawing on its unique expertise in sustainable urbanization and crisis response. UN-Habitat implements projects to provide value-added and tailored support to countries. 

SHARE: Through advocacy, communication and outreach, UN-Habitat mobilizes public, political and financial support and collaborative action to inspire qualitative change in national development plans, policy frameworks, development practice and investment choices for sustainable urban development at the local, national and global level. 

PARTNERS: UN-Habitat collaborates with governments, intergovernmental, UN agencies, civil society organizations, foundations, academic institutions and the private sector to achieve enduring results in addressing the challenges of urbanization.