Mapping SDG 11 in Alto Minho region : sustainable cities and communities

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are crucial to aid our society to develop, becoming more sustainable, and building a greater community. More than 200 indicators present in the 17 SDGs follow an Agenda for Sustainable Development for 2030 to make better changes, such as decreasing poverty and hunger; providing better health care and quality education for everyone; eliminating gender inequality; helping communities to grow economically, and build a better, greener, and safer society. In this study, the focus is on SDG 11 - Sustainable cities and communities – with in-depth research in the Alto Minho region, Portugal. The main purpose is to evaluate if the different municipals in this region are indeed achieving the goals set by SDG 11, by using software such as IBM SPSS, to compare its data. The results referring to the North region of Portugal are not promising, due to the small progress noted in each studied indicator. It has some good progress in some indicators such as 11.3 (Municipal expenditure on cultural heritage per inhabitant) but also has some worse progress, namely for indicator 11.2 (Reconstructions completed per 100 new constructions completed). Keeping this trend, the region will not reach the SDG 11 goal by 2030. This kind of analytical study is important to show the level of progress at the moment, and to understand the level of effort that is needed to improve the results in the region.