Introduction

Following directly from, and closely related to the contents of, Chapter 4, here I consider various other challenges to achieving the targets of SDG 11 and related urban components of other goals. These can be divided into two somewhat overlapping categories. The first comprises those internal to the SDGs and implementing bodies – especially local and other subnational authorities – such as lack of priority and/or political will, use of other indicator sets, trade-offs and capacity constraints. These were discussed in Chapter 3, and will not be repeated here except when they intersect with other issues relevant to this chapter.

Attention therefore focuses principally on the second category, which contains external constraints, and some that have both external and internal dimensions. By far the most important of these are political tensions and/or lack of clarity and effective collaboration between local, regional and national authorities, as well as changing policy agendas, perhaps as a result of shifts in political control at one or more levels following elections. It is also important to consider the financing of SDG implementation, along with resource constraints resulting from economic recession or shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic (and perhaps others in future), and extreme events and disasters, such as hurricanes and floods. These cause direct damage and widespread illness and death, as well as requiring rapid redeployment of funds and personnel for disaster management and recovery, thus disrupting normal activities and investment programmes and stalling or reversing previous development gains on the relevant SDG targets and indicators.

Suggested modifications and alternatives to SDG 11

Several recent contributions to the literature have contested various targets and indicators in SDG 11 on theoretical, conceptual, empirical or practical grounds, including data availability. These papers differ considerably in scope, content and proposals. Some echo earlier criticisms raised at the time of formulation and adoption, such as those of Hajer et al. (2015), who argue that the centralized, top-down nature of the SDGs through being steered by intergovernmental organizations and national governments, as well as the lack of or inadequate attention to planetary boundaries and justice, would limit or undermine their transformative potential.