SDGs Teaching Resources

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Use one or more of the Generation Global resources to teach about this SDG in your learning community. Select the resource you would like to use to learn more:

Tips and examples for aligning this SDG with your class

• Use dialogue to make real life connections between the content and subject you teach and what young people are experiencing regarding the issue.
• Use Dialogue as an activity that you come back to at key moments of a project to revisit the topic from various points of view and to reflect. For example, you might want to enter a dialogue on the subject before you teach a project, to help learners get personally connected, then host another dialogue at the end to help them explore what was learned and any new ideas that have come from the experience.
• Be sure to allow learners the space to bring their own personal experiences into the conversation and to explore instead of debating an issue.

Subject activity ideas

Math

Review data on SDG Target 11.5.1 regarding the impact of natural disasters per region from Our World in Data. Book students into the SDG 11 video conference on Inclusive Cities to compare and reflect on challenges faced in different regions.

Sciences

Prepare to engage in a SMART Cities design project by having students complete the Inclusive Communities topic in the UDA and reflect on what their own community needs to thrive. Based on the reflections, have students design solutions for improving living conditions, greener spaces, and accessibility and mobility.

Social Science

Prepare to host a conversation about the relationship between community and society in your country. Use the Rules of Dialogue activity found in the In class Activities resource above to learn one way to create safe, brave and inclusive spaces for the conversation to take place.

Language Arts

Use the Share with me activity plan from the Essentials of Dialogue to help students engage in a creative writing exercise. Invite students to write down 2-5 statements that use words to describe their community and what they think the future will look like.

Additional activities and resources

Videos:

• #LearningWithUCLG - Learning about Localising SDG 11 - United Cities and Local Governments
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - produced by Fondazione Mondo Digitale as part of the project Youth Vision 2030
• A Collection of Videos on Various Topics for SDG 11 - SDG Academy Library

Readings and data:

• SDG Tracker - “Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” Published online at OurWorldinData.org
• Fast Facts SDG 11 - un.org
• Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2023 - The World Bank - SDG11

Activities:

• Things to do: SDG 11 - The Global Goals
• SDG 11 - Transform the City: Future Thinking Put into Practice - Stairway to SDGs
• SDG11 in the Classroom: Sustainable Cities and Communities - Comundos
• An Energy Project for the Global Goals - World's Largest Lesson