Most of the urban growth is taking place in small cities and intermediate towns, exacerbating inequalities and urban poverty. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way urban spaces are built and managed. But issues still remain and in 2022, only half of the urban population had convenient access to public transport. Good progress has been made since the implementation of the SDGs in 2015, and now the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies has doubled.
Urban sprawl, air pollution and limited open public spaces persist in cities. However many of these cities are not ready for this rapid urbanisation, and it outpaces the development of housing, infrastructure and services, which led to a rise in slums or slum-like conditions. Approximately 1.1 billion people currently live in slums or slum-like conditions in cities, with 2 billion more expected in the next 30 years. This figure is only expected to rise, with 70 per cent of people expected to live in cities by 2050. The world’s population reached 8 billion on 2022 over half living in urban areas. Goal 11 is about making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.Ĭities represent the future of global living.
