Forthcoming Research Topic edited by Igor Calzada, Francesco Mureddu, and Smita Gupta

Building on the Millennium Development Goals, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, billed by the UN as “an agenda of unprecedented scope and significance.” The seventeen ambitious goals, which are intended to be reached by 2030, are conceived as integrated, indivisible, and as balancing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. They are organized around five core pillars: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. As a member of the SDGs Publishers Compact, Frontiers is committed to promoting and advocating for the themes represented by the SDGs, such as equality, sustainability, and justice.

SDG 11 has 10 targets to be achieved, and this is being measured with 15 indicators. The seven “outcome targets” include safe and affordable housing, affordable and sustainable transport systems, inclusive and sustainable urbanization, protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage, reduction of the adverse effects of natural disasters, reduction of the environmental impacts of cities and to provide access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces. The three “means of achieving” targets include strong national and regional development planning, implementing policies for inclusion, resource efficiency, and disaster risk reduction in supporting the least developed countries in sustainable and resilient building (United Nations, 2017).