SDG 11 - Sustainable cities and communities

Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically. With the number of people living within cities projected to rise to 5 billion people by 2030, it’s important that efficient urban planning and management practices are in place to deal with the challenges brought by urbanization.

Many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity without straining land and resources. Common urban challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing, declining infrastructure and rising air pollution within cities.

Rapid urbanization challenges, such as the safe removal and management of solid waste within cities, can be overcome in ways that allow them to continue to thrive and grow, while improving resource use and reducing pollution and poverty. One such example is an increase in municipal waste collection. There needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.

Facts and Figures

In 2016, over 64.4% of products exported by the least developed countries to world markets faced zero tariffs, an increase of 20% since 2010.
Evidence from developing countries shows that children in the poorest 20 per cent of the populations are still up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than children in the richest quintiles.
Social protection has been significantly extended globally, yet persons with disabilities are up to five times more likely than average to incur catastrophic health expenditures.
Despite overall declines in maternal mortality in most developing countries, women in rural areas are still up to three times more likely to die while giving birth than women living in urban centers.
Up to 30 per cent of income inequality is due to inequality within households, including between women and men. Women are also more likely than men to live below 50 per cent of the median income

Space-based Technologies for SDG 11

Preventing and managing disasters and enhancing inclusive and sustainable urbanisation are fundamental challenges to our communities. Space technologies are essential for reducing disaster risks and managing disasters and for planning sustainable human settlements. UN-SPIDER facilitates cooperation between providers and users of satellite data and helps developing countries use space-based information. Read more here.

SDG 11 Targets

Graphic displaying safe and affordable housing

Graphic displaying the implementation of policies for inclusion, resource efficiency and disaster risk reduction

Graphic displaying affordable and sustainable transport systems

Graphic displaying support for least developed countries in sustainable and resilient building

Graphic displaying inclusive and sustainable urbanisation

Graphic displaying the protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage

Graphic displaying the reduction of adverse effects of natural disasters

Graphic displaying reduced environmental impact of cities

Graphic displaying the access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces

Graphic displaying strong national and regional development planning

Learn more about the SDGs

What to expect?

This year is one of the most important with major milestones linked to global policy agendas. There is the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, there is also the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. These all bring a new set of challenges and opportunities for the international EO community.

Introduction to Geospatial Technologies for Achieving SDGs – Demographic Considerations - Summer School Event

Introduction to Geospatial Technologies for Achieving SDGs – Demographic Considerations - Summer School

Overview:

With the latest call by UN Secretary General for a “revolution” in the use of data for sustainable development, geospatial technologies have tremendous potential to boost the movement towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to improve monitoring of relevant SDGs’ targets and indicators.

Geospatial technologies and remote sensing offer a crucial location element to the monitoring of SDGs . The unprecedented “power of where” allows for unbiased observation and analysis across borders, administrative boundaries, and nations.

IWA Digital World Water Congress Event

IWA Digital World Water Congress

The IWA Digital World Water Congress is a major virtual event which aims to bring together global stakeholders from across the industry. Attendees of the event will include scientists, academics, water professionals, utilities, regulators and engineers.

Geospatial World Forum 2021 Event

Geospatial World Forum 2021

For over a decade, Geospatial World Forum (GWF) has been the premium geospatial industry platform that connects professionals and leaders representing the entire geospatial ecosystem.

Topics

Technologies

5G
Artificial Intelligence
Autonomous Vehicles
Data Science
Digital Twin
Drones
Internet of Things
LiDAR
Geospatial Infrastructure

User Segments

Geo Week Event

Geo Week

We’re excited to define the next iteration Geo Week: the coming together of the International Lidar Mapping Forum (ILMF), SPAR 3D Expo & Conference and AEC Next as an integrated event covering the next generation of digital technology.

World Water Week Event

World Water Week

What is World Water Week?

World Water Week is the leading conference on global water issues. In 2021 it will be held digitally on 23-27 August. Join us for an intensive week of learning and collaboration on the theme Building Resilience Faster. Together we can develop solutions to address climate change and other water-related challenges.

ROORKEE WATER CONCLAVE Event

ROORKEE WATER CONCLAVE

The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and the National Institute of Hydrology Roorkee jointly decided to organize regular international conference every 2 years in the area of various facets of water to be known as Roorkee Water Conclave. The present water conclave is being organized broadly focusing on "Hydrological Aspects of Climate Change".

Amsterdam International Water Week Event

Amsterdam International Water Week

The AIWW supports a sustainable water environment by providing a platform to connect those who face challenges with those who can contribute to solutions, both in the public and private domain. It supports stakeholders in building practical solutions for progress on water issues.

Geospatial World Forum Event

Geospatial World Forum

Geospatial World Forum is a collaborative and interactive platform, which demonstrates collective and shared vision of global geospatial community. It is an annual gathering of geospatial professionals and leaders representing the entire eco-system of public policies, national mapping agencies, private sector enterprises, multilateral and development organizations, scientific and academic institutions, and above all, large end users from government, businesses and citizen services.

United Nations/China Forum on Space Solutions Event

United Nations/China Forum on Space Solutions

United Nations / China Forum on Space Solutions: Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals

Co-organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and China National Space Administration

Article

Space technologies for drought monitoring and management Article

Space technologies for drought monitoring and management

The impacts of climate change are ever more apparent. The frequency and scale of devastation and destruction of weather hazards are on an increasing trend. According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report (IPCC, 2021) climate change is intensifying the water cycle. This will cause more intense droughts in many regions. Moreover, water-related extremes impact the quality of life disproportionately strong. Drought accounts for 25% of all losses from weather-related disasters in the United States of America (Hayes et al., 2012).

Towards new applications of spaceborne technology on flood protection

Recently, in July 2021, destructive and deadly floods occurred in Western Europe. The estimated insured losses only in Germany could approach 5 billion Euros (AIR Worldwide, 2021). However, the total amount of the damage is currently not foreseeable due to the variety and complexity of the damage patterns and the unbelievable extent of the disaster. It seems the socio-economic losses will dramatically increase and break a new record in the insurance industry after evaluating the complete record of damages’ reports (see Figure 1).

How has space revolutionised subsidence?

Introduction

Land subsidence is a global phenomenon and is defined as:

“a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface due to removal or displacement of subsurface earth materials” - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2021)

Why space gardening should come down to Earth

When you think about agriculture, you probably imagine a few basic things in your mind. Huge stretches of flat land, massive harvesting machines, the heat on your skin from sunlight and, perhaps most importantly, soil. This image in your mind is a common one. Humans have been tilling, seeding, and farming land since the dawn of civilization, and modern industrial farm techniques tend to dominate our conception of agriculture.

Can space technologies help improve WASH provision in camps and informal settlements?

The Human Right to water and sanitation

What does your morning routine look like? For most readers I’d assume you use the toilet, wash your hands, and maybe take a shower. However, do you ever stop to consider the water you use to shower, or the soap you use to wash your hands? Often, especially in developed countries, these things are taken for granted, rightly considering access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as basic Human Rights (Figure 1).

Interview with Mina Konaka, Satellite engineer at JAXA

Mina Konaka works at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as a satellite engineer and is currently working on the satellite ALOS-4, which can detect changes in groundwater on land. She attended the International Space University, participating in the project AWARE (Adapting to Water and Air Realities on Earth), in which participants aimed to provide solutions for flood and air quality risks due to climate change, using earth observation data and ground-based sensors. Mina feels strongly about the need to talk more globally about water management solutions, rather than on an individual country basis. Mina also hopes that in the future there will be more female engineers who pursue dreams of space, and that gender balance is no longer an issue.

Interview with Ruvimbo Samanga

Ruvimbo Samanga, despite her age, has vast experience in the law, space, and water sectors. She is presently involved in a regional study on the integration of GIS and statistical information in Zimbabwe, working towards the promulgation of GIS standards and legislation to support a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Ruvimbo is excited by the merging of sustainable development for water management with space technologies because it is scalable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective over the long run. Ruvimbo feels strongly that space technologies have a role to play in policy and legal affairs, and also sees potential especially in the use of emerging technologies such as block chain, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.

Interview with Lukas Graf

Lukas Graf used to take clean drinking water for granted. As he grew up, and conversations around climate change and environmental destruction became increasingly intense, he started to become more aware of the importance and scarcity of water resources. Around a similar time, he became increasingly enthusiastic about space, realising that space technologies could be used to explore many of the pressing topics that he was interested in. He has participated in research projects that used remote sensing methods to study the effects of global change on ecosystems and especially on water availability. Lukas is interested in a range of topics from virtual water and water quality to irrigation and agriculture. He believes that interdisciplinary approaches and mutual dialog with societies and stakeholders need to be deepened for sustained resource management.

Urban Water Scarcity: How data from NASA’s GRACE-FO Mission can be used for (near) real time water management

As population becomes larger the demand for water soars, including water needed for domestic, industrial and municipal uses (Mogelgaard 2011). One example of that, is India, where on 20 June 2019 the city of Chennai almost run out of water. Satellite images show the extent of the water shortage in the city (figure 1). While people are queuing up to get water from water trucks that transfer water to the city, the greatest struggle is taking place in the city’s municipal buildings and businesses. Hospitals are facing the threat of not having enough water to treat patients and to clean equipment, and businesses are forced to shut down and wait until the crisis is over.

ISME-HYDRO Software/Tool/(Web-)App

ISME-HYDRO

ISME-HYDRO is a platform that helps monitor water resources of dams, thus enabling water resources managers to better execute their duties. It employs linked data infrastructure integrating in-situ measurements, satellite data, GIS data, domain knowledge, deep learning, and provides capabilities of forecasting of water volumes, of alerting for hazardous situations, of interaction with the data through four kinds of search and GIS interactivity. The platform is easily extendable and customizable.

JAXA Climate Rainfall Watch

A need to monitor precipitation extremes from space is widely recognized, especially for regions where ground-based observations are limited or unavailable. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has developed the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) in the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The JAXA participated in the Space-based Weather and Climate Extremes Monitoring (SWCEM) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) by providing the GSMaP Near-real-time Rainfall Product.

Status and outlook of the Space4Water Project of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs: three years of Space4Water Publication

Status and outlook of the Space4Water Project of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs: three years of Space4Water

Project / Mission / Initiative / Community Portal

e-shape Project / Mission / Initiative / Community Portal

e-shape

e-shape is a unique initiative that brings together decades of public investment in Earth Observation and in cloud capabilities into services for the decision-makers, the citizens, the industry and the researchers. It allows Europe to position itself as global force in Earth observation through leveraging Copernicus, making use of existing European capacities and improving user uptake of the data from GEO assets. EuroGEO, as Europe's contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), aims at bringing together Earth Observation resources in Europe.

In-Service ICT Training for Environmental Professionals

Decision-makers are faced with the constant challenge of maintaining access to and understanding new technologies and data, as information and communication technologies (ICTs) are constantly evolving and as more and more data is becoming available. Despite continually improving technologies, informed decision-making is being hindered by inadequate attention to enabling conditions, e.g. a lack of in-service education and professional training for decision-makers.