Urban Innovation Is Essential to Reach the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Guangzhou Award report suggests ways to support and accelerate city-level innovation needed to reach the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs

PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) co-authored, with the Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and Wellcome Trust, a report outlining lessons for local implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 5th Guangzhou Award Report on Local Implementation of SDGs analyzes 45 case studies of innovative urban initiatives around the world, providing evidence that city-level innovation is essential to achieving the SDGs and suggesting ways nations can partner with and support cities in pursuit of this common goal. 

“Cities around the world are moving quickly, taking risks, and cooperating with one another to create more sustainable and inclusive development,” says Penn IUR’s Amanda Lloyd, co-author of the report. “We are identifying ways to encourage and harness that innovation on behalf of sustainable and inclusive development.”

Focused on innovations related to the COVID-19 pandemic response and the eight SDGs under review at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) being held virtually July 13-15, 2021, the report includes lessons drawn from the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award). Established in 2012 to advocate urban innovation, accelerate the attainment of the SDGs, and encourage international exchanges and city-to-city cooperation to do so, the award was co-founded by the City of Guangzhou with the United Cities and Local Government (UCLG) and the World Association of Major Metropolises (Metropolis). Penn IUR Co-Director Eugénie Birch has been part of the peer review jury process for the Guangzhou Award since 2018.

This year, Guangzhou Award asked Penn IUR and co-authors to analyze the 45 semi-finalists for the 2020 award to suggest how to better support cities in moving toward a more sustainable world; the 5th Guangzhou Award Report on Local Implementation of SDGs shares lessons from this analysis. In addition to lessons related to each SDG, the co-authors have identified four factors necessary for innovation to take hold in cities and to realize results at the necessary pace and scale.

“Cities need to put people first, to have local leadership, to take a systems approach, and—last but not least—they need to pursue the right goals,” says Nicholas You, Executive Director, Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation, Project Director and Editor. “We can accelerate progress toward the SDGs by making sure these factors are in place.”

The report can be downloaded here: https://penniur.upenn.edu/uploads/media/Guangzhou_Award_2020_HLPF_Report_FINAL_13July21.pdf

The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) is dedicated to advancing cross-disciplinary urban-focused research, instruction, and civic engagement on issues relevant to cities around the world. As the global population becomes increasingly urban, understanding cities is vital to informed decision-making and public policy at the local, national, and international levels. Penn IUR focuses on research that informs the sustainable and inclusive 21stt century city. By providing a forum for collaborative scholarship and instruction at Penn and beyond, Penn IUR stimulates research and engages with urban practitioners and policymakers to inform urban policy.

The Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation (GIUI) was established in 2012 under the framework of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation. The Institute is conceived as an international network of experts and institutions dedicated to furthering urban innovation concepts, tools and methodologies. Its members include research and academic institutions, professional associations, community-based organizations, industry leaders and individual experts.  The Guangzhou Award aims to recognize innovation in improving social, economic, and environmental sustainability in cities and regions and, in so doing, to advance the prosperity and quality of life of their citizens.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation, the Lincoln institute aims, through education, training, publications, and events, to inform public policy decisions worldwide around the achievement of six goals: low-carbon, climate-resilient communities and regions; efficient and equitable tax systems; reduced poverty and spatial inequality; fiscally healthy communities and regions; sustainably managed land and water resources; and functional land markets and reduced informality.

Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation whose mission is to address three worldwide health challenges—mental health, infectious disease and climate. Wellcome works with academia, philanthropy, businesses, governments, civil society and the public around the world to support science’s role in solving health challenges including advocacy, research, and grant funding.