Image: Kyle Hasegawa/Flickr
11. Sustainable cities and communities

11. Sustainable cities and communities

More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas. By 2050, that figure will have risen to 6.5 billion people – two-thirds of all humanity. Extreme poverty is often concentrated in urban spaces, and national and city governments struggle to accommodate the rising population in these areas. Making cities safe and sustainable means ensuring access to safe and affordable housing, and upgrading slum settlements. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.

Read our stories to learn more about SDG Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

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Image: Willis Chong/Wikipedia
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SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities is supported by ABB

News

Workers rest in the shade outside a construction site in Singapore.
A 1°C warmer Singapore will result in an 88 per cent increase in economic losses to heat stress, which also negatively affects fertility, research by National University of Singapore finds.
Pygmy_Elephant_Sabah_Borneo
The government of Sabah state in Malaysian Borneo will continue to move forward with an opaque nature conservation agreement despite concerns raised by the United Nations.
Aqua water bottles from Indonesia
The bottled water firm was identified in a recent study as Indonesia's largest plastic polluter, a label it rejects. Danone highlighted its progress in managing post-consumer waste in Indonesia, efforts the company says have "not received enough attention".
Two_Sessions_Beijing_Night
China’s most important political meetings show balancing act between economic growth and emissions control.
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Opinion

Falls festival on 2015
Following a devastating week of extreme weather forcing the cancellation of Pitch, Australia's decimated live entertainment scene recalibrates.
Greta_Thunberg_UNIS
Across the globe, political campaigns are targeting young people for their votes, but are they listening to their growing anger over climate inaction?
Offshore gas Southeast Asia
By maintaining energy subsidies initially designed as temporary measures, we risk perpetuating our dependence on fossil fuels.
JETP_Solar_Vietnam
A coordinated approach both regionally and globally is needed to ensure a just energy transition in Southeast Asia that stimulates economic growth.
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Videos

'Wasted' documentary
Launched as policymakers lock horns with petrochemicals lobbyists over a treaty to end plastic pollution, the documentary produced by Eco-Business asks why opportunities to solve humanity's waste crisis are being wasted. It will premiere in Singapore and screen on the sidelines of the upcoming COP28 climate summit.
Tata Balladares
The veteran journalist talks to Eco-Business about how his Emmy-nominated documentary depicts the lives of environmental crusaders in Asia's deadliest country for guardians of the seas and forests.
Brookes Point human barricade
Video footage appears to show protestors, who were demonstrating against mining operations, being dragged away by police near Ipilan Nickel Mine in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Mining insiders are calling for maximum tolerance in similar standoffs.
Residents fight police
Mining operations at Altai Philippines Mining Corporation have been suspended for now, after week-long protests from locals of Sibuyan Island in Romblon, who claimed the extraction of nickel ore will disrupt the island’s intact ecosystems.
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Podcasts

IP Tebtebba
In celebration of Indigenous Peoples' month in the Philippines, the former United Nations special rapporteur tells the Eco-Business Podcast about her lifelong work to empower communities in Asia’s most dangerous country for environmental defenders.
Alternative proteins podcast 2
EB Studio What are the latest trends in the alternative proteins industry today? The Eco-Business podcast discusses new hybrid products, more localised offerings and cheaper prices due to economies of scale.
Gojek vehicle in Indonesia
GoTo sustainability head Tanah Sullivan tells the Eco-Business Podcast that regulating net-zero claims would decarbonise Southeast Asia faster. Indonesia's biggest internet firm aims to cut emissions to zero by 2030 — a target critics say is unrealistic.
hotels podcast
Can the hotels sector, traditionally resource-intensive and wasteful, reinvent itself and go green? Eco-Business asks two hospitality executives about balancing post-Covid recovery, and if luxury can be made compatible with sustainability.
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