Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.1.1 is the “proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing” in the UN SDG framework.

A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, durability of housing, and security of tenure.

Informal settlements are often synonymous with slums, and refer to settings lacking security of tenure, formal basic services and city infrastructure, and compliance with current planning and building regulations. Inadequate housing meets the same criteria used to define slums, but is also assessed on the criteria of affordability, location, and cultural adequacy.

Data for this indicator is shown in the interactive visualization as the share of urban population living in slums. Internationally comparable data for the other components of this indicator is not currently available.

Goal: By 2030 “ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.”

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.2.1 is the “proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities” in the UN SDG framework.

Although the United Nations Human Settlements Programme has developed a methodology for estimating this indicator, internationally comparable data by country is not yet available.

Goal: “Provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all” by 2030.¹

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.3.1 is the “ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate” in the UN SDG framework.

Data on land consumption is only available for individual cities, which we are not able to effectively visuliaze, so for this indicator no data is shown.

Goal: “Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries” by 2030.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.3.2 is the “proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically” in the UN SDG framework.

Internationally comparable data on this indicator is not yet available.

Goal: “Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries” by 2030.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.4.1 is the “total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by source of funding (public, private), type of heritage (cultural, natural) and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)” in the UN SDG framework.

Data for this indicator is shown in the interactive visualization. It is given as per capita expenditure – from public and private sources – on cultural and natural heritage preservation, protection, and conservation. This data is reported in constant dollars, which adjusts for inflation.

Goal: “Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage” by 2030.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.5.3 is the “(a) damage to critical infrastructure and (b) number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters” in the UN SDG framework.

Limited internationally comparable data on this indicator is currently available, so is not reported here.

Goal: By 2030, “substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.”²

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.6.1 is the “proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities” in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator measures the share of urban solid waste that is regularly collected and managed.

Regional data is shown in the interactive visualization; it is not available at the national or municipal level.

Goal: “By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to municipal and other waste management.”³

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.6.1 is the “annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted)” in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator measures the population-weighted exposure to ambient PM2.5 and PM10 pollution; that is, concentrations of suspended particles measuring less than 2.5 or 10 microns in diameter.

Data for PM2.5 pollution is shown in the interactive visualization; data for PM10 pollution is not available, and is not shown here.

Goal: “By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air pollution.” ³

More research: Further data and research on this topic can be found at the Our World in Data topic page on Air Pollution.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.7.1 is the “average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities” in the UN SDG framework.

Internationally comparable data on this indicator is not yet available, and thus is not reported here.

Goal: “Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces by 2030.”

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.7.2 is the “proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months” in the UN SDG framework.

Internationally comparable data on this indicator is not yet available, and thus is not reported here.

Goal: “Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities” by 2030.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.a.1 is the “number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that (a) respond to population dynamics; (b) ensure balanced territorial development; and (c) increase local fiscal space” in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator is measured by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and the United Nations Population Fund, through the evaluation of official documents on national urban policies and regional development plans. Data for this indicator is shown in the interactive visualization.

As an example, “responding to population dynamics” would mean that urban policies or regional development plans will be suited to – and will factor in future changes – in demographics such as age, sex ratio, household size, mobility, and migration.

Goal: “Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning” by 2030.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.b.1 is the “number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030” in the UN SDG framework.

This indicator identifies countries who have and have not adopted and implemented disaster risk management strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is an international agreement that aims to strengthen disaster preparedness in order to reduce risk and losses from disasters. Although the indicator definition is framed in terms of the number of countries adopting national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework, the United Nations tracks this measure in terms of country levels of implementation.

The interactive visualization here shows levels of country implementation, on a scale from 0 to 1 (where the higher score, the more policies have been implemented). It’s based on an average score from 10 sub-indicators that collectively reflect progress towards implementation of the Sendai Framework.

Goal: “Substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing holistic disaster risk management at all levels.”⁴

More research: Further data and research on this topic can be found at the Our World in Data topic page on Natural Disasters.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 11.b.2 is the “proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies” in the UN SDG framework.

In this context, “local governments” refers to sub-national administrative bodies that have responsibility for developing disaster risk reduction strategies.

The interactive visualization shows the share of local administrations that have adopted disaster risk reduction strategies in line with a country’s national strategy.

Goal: “Substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing holistic disaster risk management at all levels.”⁴

More research: Further data and research on this topic can be found at the Our World in Data topic page on Natural Disasters.

Definition of the SDG indicator: This indicator is currently under development, as per the UN SDG framework.

Goal: “Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials” by 2030.