This report introduces the Framework for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) - a screening tool that aims to support governments in designing and implementing coherent policies.

This volume describes African cities in transition, and the economic, socio-political, and environmental challenges resulting from rapid post-colonial urbanization. As the African continent continues to transition from urban configurations inherited from colonial influences and history, it faces issues such as urban slum expansion, increased demands for energy and clean water, lack of adequate public transportation, high levels of inequality among different socio-economic population strata, and inadequate urban governance, planning, and policies. African cities in transition need to reconsider current policies and developmental trajectories to facilitate and sustain economic growth and Africa’s strategic repositioning in the world. Written by an international team of scholars and practitioners, this volume uses case studies to focus on key issues and developmental challenges in selected African cities. Topics include but are not limited to, smart cities, changing notions of democracy, the city’s role in attaining the SDGs, local governance, alternative models for governance and management, corruption, urbanisation and future cities.

This book is the first volume in the publication series "Human Rights Go Local". This series will allow established researchers, new voices, and practitioners to contribute to the debate on the interlinkages between human rights and global policy frameworks, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda. In addition, the publication series will showcase how these very interlinkages can guide us towards creating inclusive, resilient, safe, and sustainable urban spaces and regions. The contributions to this publication series are targeted to all stakeholders at the local and regional levels: municipal administrations and regional governments; local authorities and service-providers; city coalitions; scholars and activists; and everyone seeking to understand, evaluate, discuss, and engage in fostering human rights and sustainable development at the local and regional levels. This book discusses three fundamental questions: -What are the interlinkages between human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and what practical implications does this relationship have for the local level? -How do local level authorities, such as Human Rights Cities, (concurrently) implement human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals in practice? -Which governance levels are practically involved in the implementation of human rights and the international development agenda at the local level and how do they interact and influence each other?The publication series is jointly edited by the UNESCO Centre for the Promotion of Human Rights at the Local and Regional Levels (Graz, Austria) and the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Human Security at the University of Graz.

Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Its purpose is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateral organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be executed at local, national, and global levels. The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st century.

The book showcases examples of university engagement in community initiatives and reports on the results from research and from a variety of institutional projects and programmes. As a whole, the book illustrates how actors at the community (microlevel) and other levels (meso and macro) can make valuable and concrete contributions to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, more specifically, to achieving the objectives defined at the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is one of the outcomes of the “Second World Symposium on Sustainability Science”, which was jointly organised by the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (Brazil), the Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management” and the “European School of Sustainability Science and Research” at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), in cooperation with the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP).

This volume presents North American best practices and perspectives on developing, managing and monitoring indicators to track development progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in local communities and cities. In 4 main sections, the book presents and frames the many ways in which community indicator programs are either integrating or retooling to integrate the SDGs into their existing frameworks, or how they are developing new programs to track and report progress on the SDGs. This is the first volume that focuses on SDG adoption within the context of North Americans cities and communities, and the unique issues and opportunities prevalent in these settings. The chapters are developed by experienced academics and practitioners of community planning and sustainable development, and will add broad perspective on public policy, organizational management, information management and data visualization. This volume presents a case-study approach to chapters, offering lessons that can be used by three main audiences: 1) teachers and researchers in areas of urban, regional, and environmental planning, urban development, and public policy; 2) professional planners, decision-makers, and urban managers; and 3) sustainability activists and interested groups.