资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Madrid, 22 March 2021-- UN-Habitat together with the Madrid City Council, recently organized an open dialogue to discuss how the agency promotes and supports the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda (SDG) in cities and territories.

The dialogue also interrogated the elaboration of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), through a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder and multi-level approach that encompasses the Global Urban Monitoring Framework, the support given to VLRs and the flagship programme of UN-Habitat SDG Cities.

In addition, during the dialogue it was highlighted the support that the city of Madrid has provided UN-Habitat related to the 2030 Agenda, specifically in activities to develop capacities for its implementation, as well as in urban monitoring frameworks and information mechanisms on the progress of localizing SDGs, such as the VLRs.

Regarding the latter, Santiago Saura, Councilor for International Affairs and Cooperation of Madrid City Council, mentioned that “Voluntary Local Reviews help cities to evaluate their own progress and how they (cities) contribute to the implementation of the SDGs at the regional and local levels”.

On the comprehensive approach of UN-Habitat, Carmen Sánchez-Miranda, head of the UN-Habitat Country Office Spain highlighted that “the three key pillars are the Global Urban Monitoring Framework that provides indicators; the support to VLRs, which propose a shared vision for the actors regarding the territory; and the UN-Habitat flagship programme "SDG Cities".

Eduardo López Moreno, Head of the Knowledge and Innovation Branch of UN-Habitat, recalled that “only through the co-creation and coherence of the support to the Voluntary Local Reviews will these be a transformative tool to advance in the localization of the SDGs”.

Finally, Robert Ndugwa, Chief of the Data and Analytics Unit of UN-Habitat, spoke about the Global Urban Monitoring Framework, which “connects and fills the existing gaps; its added value is to harmonize and unite. It seeks to generate disaggregated data, at the neighborhood, city and national level, so as not to leave anyone behind”. He also added that the Framework monitors the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda (NAU) at the local level, complementing the NAU's own monitoring framework and the guidelines for national governments, seeking not to have multiple indicator frameworks and separate data demands.

What capacities are required for cities to achieve the SDGs?

• Effective urban policies
• Urban planning
• Inclusive governance
• Investment in infrastructure
• Local revenue

Cities can be massive agents of positive change, if they are well planned, built and governed.