ABSTRACT
The Rio+20 outcome document recognised the need for systematic urban development for strengthening sustainability, and outlined the subthemes, which formed the basis for negotiating SDG 11 on cities and human settlements. This chapter reviews the role of the cities in the post-2015 negotiations, with focus on the Open Working Group on SDGs. It sets out the background of the notion of sustainable cities in the UN framework, and looks at the drafting process of targets and indicators for SDG 11. Finally, it concludes that while some concerns have surfaced on the increased role of local governance, there appears to be a broadly shared understanding among the UN membership on the importance of cities in achieving the SDGs.
