Is the housing of tomorrow in line with the SDGs of today - How localization strategies help to bring us back on track

With only four years left to deliver on the 2030 Agenda, siloed thematic and administrative approaches are not delivering sufficient progress. Increasingly, attention is shifting to integrated and transformative approaches that leverage synergies across goals and sectors. SDG 11 - especially 11.1 - is widely viewed as a cross-cutting lever with positive spillovers for many other SDGs. For local governments, however, this convergence does not reduce pressure. Cities face expanding responsibilities to align local development with the 2030 Agenda, meet housing objectives, and do so with transparent, accurate, and data-driven reporting.

This event is part of the "Road to Baku: The Local Way", promoted by the Local2030 Coalition, which has supported the participation of over 1,500 local development stakeholders in global policy processes leading up to major milestones shaping global agendas, including the FFD4 Conference, the Second World Social Summit, and COP30. Objectives include:

- Clarify the role of SDG 11 and target 11.1 as cross-cutting enablers for multiple SDGs.

- Highlight how the UN High Impact Initiative on SDG Localization can support municipal implementation.

- Present practical solutions for integrated, transformative approaches beyond silos. - Share methods for transparent, precise, and actionable local data and reporting.

Outcome: Participants leave with a clear action agenda, tested tools for integrated local implementation of housing schemes and targets, and links to programmatic support for SDG localization - aimed at accelerating measurable progress by 2030. In collaboration with the Local2030 Coalition (UN), OECD, GIZ and cities this discussion will address the following questions:

- Priority setting and politics of sustainability: Is housing given sufficient priority within the 2030 Agenda? Do we need to decouple/recouple housing action from/with the Agenda to deliver results? How sustainable are current housing strategies? Do they go beyond “build, build, build” at various levels? How do housing policy responsibilities affect progress?

- Solutions and partnerships: Which tools genuinely help cities to plan and quantify housing needs? What can sustainability instruments offer? Are SDG and housing "teams" overlooking each other’s priorities?

- Data and reporting frameworks for housing policy: What housing data (in VLRs) is available, missing, and policy-relevant? Are common policy responses to the housing issue a result of data gaps?