Urban² sustainable development is a central challenge and a major opportunity for most countries, as urban and slum populations are rising rapidly. The urban share of the world’s population is expected to rise from 52 percent in 2010 to around 67 percent in 2050, and the urban share of GDP and employment will rise commensurately. If managed well, urbanization can create employment and prosperity, and become a central driver for ending extreme poverty and for strengthening social inclusion. If managed poorly, cities will deepen social exclusion and fail to generate enough jobs.

Urban sustainable development is complex, involving not only many sectors but also many political entities, including local neighborhoods, city governments, metropolitan areas, and national governments, which must empower cities and link them to rural areas. As a result, strategies for cities pose highly complex yet crucial challenges. An urban Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is therefore important to mobilize and bring together the efforts of multiple actors and stakeholders (e.g. local authorities, national governments, businesses, knowledge institutions, and civil society) across a range of urban issues (e.g. urban jobs, housing, infrastructure, governance, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation and mitigation) and mobilize the financial, institutional, and human resources to make this possible.