New York, 8 July 2019 – Today, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s United States Network (SDSN USA) launched the 2019 US Cities Sustainable Development Report, SDSN’s third city-level report ranking 105 US cities on progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs). The results show that there will be significant work to do across the board if the SDGs are to be achieved by 2030, as cities on average scored only 48.9%.

The economic and public health benefits of urban climate policies

Community action has an increasingly prominent role in the debates surrounding transitions to sustainability. Initiatives such as community energy projects, community gardens, local food networks and car sharing clubs provide new spaces for sustainable consumption, and combinations of technological and social innovations. These initiatives, which are often driven by social good rather than by pure monetary motives, have been conceptualised as grassroots innovations.

California is spending millions to help low-income families go solar.  See full story here.  

SDSN’s online education initiative SDSNedu is now the

With the Paris Climate Talks putting cities top of the agenda for climate action, check out a new MOOC on Sustainable Cities! Sign up today for a free 5 week course on the latest knowledge on cities, climate and sustainability! https://www.coursera.org/learn/gte-sustainable-cities

Interest in the sustainable city is growing around the world and with it come important questions about governing sustainable urban development. Why are there blockages to achieving the goal of a sustainable city? How is it possible to overcome the practical difficulties that initiatives often face? And how can an increasingly technocratic focus be rebalanced with more of a public perspective? In this wide-ranging text, Pando colleague Simon Joss examines mainstream policy and practice and looks at the approaches that can overcome some of their drawbacks. 

The Solutions Gateway, an online platform on Low Carbon Solutions for Urban Development created for cities and towns, was launched at the ICLEI World Congress 2015 in April 2015. It is now available to all local governments, free of charge.

Homeowners in Canada's Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), Nova Scotia, can take advantage of municipal financing through the Solar City program to install solar-powered water heating systems, lower their energy bills, and reduce water consumption. The municipality arranged over 300 system installations in the program's first 14 months — more than the rest of Canada that year — and aims to finance 700 systems within the first two years.