Liveable cities for all: building a better future
An Emerald mission in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
The idea that urban environments should prioritise access to clean water and sanitation, food security, healthcare, education, public transit, and green spaces is strongly associated with the concept of liveable cities.
As such, liveable cities are conceptualised as promoting individual and community well-being. It is, however, a contested concept. For its advocates, liveable cities encourage sustainable solutions to enduring urban problems and forward-thinking policies aimed at tackling climate change. For its critics, liveable cities reinforce marginalisation and exclusion within cities.
In this mission campaign, we explore the concept of liveable cities through the following themes:
- Collaborative governance and innovation
- Urban regeneration
- Housing affordability
- Inclusive, safe and equitable cities
- Green city planning
- Cities, food and nutrition
- Age-friendly communities.
This mission campaign aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 11. Goal 11 aims to 'make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.'
A commitment to this vision of urban life calls for radical collaboration among city planners, civic leaders, businesses, anchor institutions such as universities and healthcare organisations, and grassroots community groups to support a just transition towards a liveable city for all.
Join us as we explore some of the key challenges in creating vibrant, inclusive and sustainable urban environments, and the vital partnerships to solve them. Please get in touch with us.
This mission is aligned with our fairer society goal
Panel session & blog on liveable cities
Panel session: what does it take to become and sustain a liveable city?
Join our Fairer Society Goal Advisor, Professor Wendy Purcell, Harvard University, USA and expert panellists as they explore the concept of what it takes to become and sustain a liveable city, focusing on the collaboration and partnerships it takes to create a city that leaves no one behind.
Blog: Inclusive liveable cities
What happens to our cities over the next 30-years will determine the well-being of the world’s projected 11 billion people. Liveable cities are central to the concept of a Fairer Society and we took this theme as the subject of a roundtable discussion...
Articles
Explore our research on the topic of liveable cities.
Blogs & videos
Take a look at our latest blogs and videos to find out more about what our authors/editors have to say regarding liveable cities.
Different routes to publication
If you would like to contribute to the discussion, take a look at our different routes to publication and contact us to get involved.
Additional information
Podcast: Localising the sustainable development goals
Speakers: Enrico Guarini, Elisa Mori and Elena Zuffada
What role do local governments - and more specifically, cities – play in achieving the UN Sustainable Goals?
Find out more and read the transcript
Costs rise as urban climate harm outpaces policymaking
Cities account for 70% of the carbon emissions from global energy use according to UN-Habitat, and more frequently are suffering increasingly visible and disruptive climate impacts such as heatwaves and storms. Building resilience to climate change, and reconciling economic growth with lower emissions, are major urban policy challenges.
Talk to us about your work
We really welcome insights not only from researchers but practitioners too about their work.
If you would like to contribute to the discussion, or you are working on research in areas related to liveable cities, please let us know by filling in this form.
