The world continues to urbanize. In the 100 years starting 1913, the proportion of the world’s population that lives in cities grew 5-fold from 10% to 50%, and estimates suggest that 75% of the world’s population will live in cities in 2050. Though history reveals that urbanization has always been an accelerator of growth and development, it also poses profound challenges for corporates, communities, cities, and countries. A recent McKinsey report succinctly notes: “Cities are essential to global economic growth and productivity. They are where most of the world’s population live, work, and play, and they are important to everyone else, too. They are the world’s economic engine, consuming the majority of global power and resources, while generating 80 percent of GDP and 70 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions. Making cities great is the critical infrastructure challenge of this century.” At the same time, the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – “all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.” The purpose of the 2025 Spring GNW course are to help students across the GNAM: • Critique the challenges and opportunities of the implementation of the UN SDGs in securing inclusive prosperity • Evaluate how local and regional context shapes the challenges and opportunities facing global cities, and how cities can be a leverage point for other SDGs • Develop and defend a point of view regarding the value of transdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder for cities to shape resilience and inclusive prosperity.
