Progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for EU Urban Communities (SDG11)

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development emphasizes the interconnectedness of environmental issues with socio-economic development, recognizing their fundamental role in human prosperity, while the sustainable development goals (SDGs) serve as a pivotal framework globally. This study provides a critical assessment of the progress made by EU Member States in pursuing the SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) targets as set out in the 2030 Agenda. The analysis is based on official data published by the EU Statistical Office—Eurostat—and uses the AAA (Holt-Winters) exponential smoothing algorithm for the trend analysis of specific indicators. The results show significant progress during the first seven years of implementation of the Agenda 2023, while indicating concerns about the achievement of the 2030 targets in some Member States. The mapping of potentially negative trends emphasizes the need for firm corrective actions, underlining the urgency of early interventions to address expected negative developments before they have potentially irreversible consequences.