SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Facts:*
Half of humanity – 3.5 billion people — lives in cities today.
By 2030, almost 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas.
95% of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in the developing world.
828 million people live in slums today and the number continues to rise.
The world’s cities occupy just 3% of the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions.
Take a public transport or (even better!) a bike instead of the car.
Build a community around yourself – with your neighbours, friends, people of the same interest, etc. Support each other, share things so you don't have to buy them individually, build resilience to be able to go through difficult times together.
More inspiration:
To read
Changemakers working in slums:
Latin Latas – organization from Colombia which uses zero-waste music instruments to reach out to young people from slums
Techo – one of the main South American organizations, building houses in slums all over the continent.
Estrelas da Babilonia – hostel in the middle of a favela in Rio de Janeiro, bringing together people from different backgrounds.
Other
Fazenda Santa Esther – rural co-working space which breaks stereotypes around the concept of “rural” and brings urban people into nature.
Dynamo – social business from Italy supporting the cyclist community and development.
To watch
Introduction to SDG 11.*
TED Talk The shareable future of cities - Alex Steffen shows some cool neighborhood-based green projects that expand our access to things we want and need - while reducing the time we spend in cars.*
For more info about other SDGs, have a look here.
* These information and calls to action come from the fantastic Development Perspectives material about SDGs. Have a look here to discover more.