Local voluntary reports: the implementation of sustainable development goals in northern and southern cities

Abstract

Given the increasing relevance of cities in the global agenda, we examine the voluntary local reports from six northern and southern cities around the world to understand their approach to the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. We examine not only the framework but also the content of the reports to identify the differences in reporting on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the factors that may explain why these cities have voluntarily submitted their reports. The research has revealed a wide diversity in the structure and content of the voluntary local reports, demonstrating that there was little to no institutional framework used to submit and compile the reports. Although the reports of northern cities tend to align with previous strategies for the SDGs, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in southern cities has had a more significant impact on the adoption of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at the local level. We have found that both international bodies and national policies have an influence on the development of sustainable practices at the local level. Our analysis also indicates that all cities have some sort of international exposure either through their participation in transnational municipal networks or through their collaboration with international organizations, especially in southern cities, which can explain why these cities (and not others) are more active in the adoption of SDGs at the local level and in the submission of voluntary reports.