Headline: Global sustainability goals for cities

Local government is often more flexible and more innovative than national government in terms of sustainability. For this reason, a separate Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for cities is to be developed as part of the post-2015 development agenda. Participants at the international workshop "Urban productivity & resilience: A case for Sustainable Development Goals", which took place at the end of October at the IASS, argued in favour of such an initiative.

The 30 participants made up of politicians and scientists, including representatives from the United Nations and members of municipal governments, also discussed the struggle against social and geographical inequality, about improving civic participation as well as the relevance of connected city ecosystems. The starting point of the workshop was a dialogue project which was held by the IASS together with the Botanic Garden in Bogotá from February to August 2013.

Together with partners from Colombia, the IASS will compile a policy brief over the coming weeks which summarises the key findings of the project in recommendations for an SDG for cities.