URBADEV – Territorial and Urban Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development

#SDGAction42723

Description

Intro

The adopted approach supports local strategies of sustainable development and consequently promotes the pursuing of SDG 11 throughout Europe. Considering that such strategies are by definition integrated in the sense of being cross-sectoral and multi-actor, they can also be a mean to meet several SDGs at local level. For example, a majority of Sustainable Urban Development and Integrated territorial Investment strategies show actions related to energy efficiency (SDG 7), circular economy (SDG 12), environment and ecosystems (SDG 15), economic growth and employment (SDGs 8), social inclusion (SDG 10), besides targeting transversal objectives such as participation and multi-actor engagement (SDG 17).

Objective of the practice

Methodological guidance on integrated urban and territorial development implemented through the European Regional Development Fund. The focus is on strategies that set out integrated actions based on identified challenges. Emphasis is put on the integrated nature of these strategies in terms of: interlinked actions; concentration and integration of resources to target areas with specific urban challenges and integration in the wider objectives of the programme, contributing in this way to the global debate on how to implement sustainable development at the local level

Partners

Implementer: European Commission Beneficiary / Users: Policy-makers, local authorities, citizens

Implementation of the Project/Activity

Direct implementation of the European Commission

Results/Outputs/Impacts

One of URBADEV's major outputs is STRAT-Board a publicly available tool that maps urban and territorial development strategies funded by Cohesion funds. This tool will allow seeing the thematic objectives and main thematic focuses of each strategy, constituting a way to track the effort European cities are making in meeting the SDGs. Moreover, URBADEV provides for methodological guidance on how to implement urban strategies, contributing in this way to the global debate on how to implement sustainable development at the local level.

Enabling factors and constraints

Open and free platform. Comparability.

Sustainability and replicability

URBADEV could be replicated also for other funding and investments

Conclusions

Availability of data ad indicators for the monitoring of urban areas vs. the achievement of SDG goals.

Other sources of information

https://urban.jrc.ec.europa.eu/strat-board

SDGS & Targets

Goal 15

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss