US cities in pursuit of viable futures: Taking on the sustainable development goals

With political divisions on the rise and global cooperation imperiled, city officials worldwide are stepping up to lead, solving local problems while sharing solutions and innovations across borders. Making cities such as New York, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles inclusive, safe, and sustainable is vital to the future of the United States—and the globe. Driven by the need to act locally while thinking globally, a growing number of metro areas are adapting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a blueprint for progress.

On November 29, 2018, the Global Economy and Development Program at Brookings and Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy co-hosted an event with city officials and development experts to explore the value proposition of the SDGs for U.S. cities. Experts explored how the 17 SDGs can help cities tackle local economic, political, and environmental challenges vital to the health and wellbeing of their residents. They debated how U.S. cities can lead and reach the global goals by 2030, as outlined in this blog post by Anthony Pipa.

New York City and Los Angeles are publicly promoting and implementing the SDGs, while cities such as Pittsburgh are leading on innovation and sustainability but have not yet connected their strategies to the SDGs. Panelists also explored how technology can help integrate the SDGs into city strategies and accelerate development gains.

Following the discussion, panelists took questions from the audience.