Introduction to A Research Agenda for Sustainable Cities and Communities

As we stand part way through the period for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this book takes stock of how the global research community has contributed to the delivery of SDG11. It also looks forward and outlines the key agendas for research and practice that require attention of both academic and other societal actors to deliver sustainable cities and communities. While the scale and scope of research that relates to SDG11 makes it difficult to draw clear boundaries, its objectives to make cities and human settlements safe, inclusive, sustainable and resilient offer pointers. A key theme for this book involves understanding how urbanisation can be steered in more sustainable, inclusive and resilient directions, and many of the chapters focus on how to bring communities into the process of urban development, empowering them in different ways to be able to shape the places in which they live and work.