Sustainable Development Goals 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

 

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Many cities have become COVID-19 epicentres, revealing their vulnerabilities due to a lack of suitable and cheap housing, poor public health systems, and inadequate urban infrastructures such as water, sanitation, waste services, public transportation, and open public spaces. Migrants, the homeless, and those living in urban slums and informal settlements have suffered disproportionate pandemic-related impacts due to deep-seated inequality. Nonetheless, some cities have emerged as engines of economic recovery, centres of innovation, and catalysts for social and economic transformation as a result of the crisis. The recovery from the pandemic provides a chance to rethink and redesign cities as centres of inclusive and sustainable growth.

The COVID19 pandemic has worsened the situation for slum dwellers

Between 2014 and 2018, the percentage of urban residents living in slums climbed from 23% to 24%, resulting in over 1 billion slum inhabitants globally. Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (370 million slum dwellers), Sub-Saharan Africa (238 million slum dwellers), and Central and Southern Asia (238 million slum dwellers) are the three regions with the highest slum residents (226 million). Standard urban planning, funding, and policymaking seldom take these people's needs and concerns into consideration, leaving a large portion of the world population behind.

Low-income households and those employed in the informal sector have been disproportionately affected by the COVID19 pandemic. The number of slum residents and those whose living conditions have worsened has grown, leaving them even more vulnerable. The number of slum dwellers will continue to rise in most developing countries unless governments at all levels take coordinated action in collaboration with civil society and development partners.