From Integrated Planning to Action -Project Platforms as a Tool for Decentralized Cooperation and Sdgs Localization

Since the launch of the 2030 Agenda, cities have increasingly embraced integrated planning aligned with the SDGs, especially SDG 11. Yet in fragile, resource-constrained, multi-municipal urban areas, the hardest part is not agreeing on priorities; it is turning strong joint plans into real, coordinated change that people can feel in their daily lives. This session reflects on an internationally recognized shared spatial and investment planning experience developed by municipalities operating within one interconnected urban area. Residents move, work, study, and access services across boundaries as one urban system—so cross-boundary issues such as public transport, housing-related infrastructure, climate resilience, and environmental services cannot be solved municipality by municipality. While decentralized cooperation (DC) has been practiced by individual cities, it has not yet been systematically used as a shared pathway to tackle these common challenges at the scale citizens actually experience. In the absence of a metropolitan governance structure—and while acknowledging legitimate concerns around autonomy and institutional dominance—the session explores Project Platforms as a pragmatic, intermediate delivery solution. Project Platforms do not create new governance entities nor weaken municipal independence; they create flexible, project-based spaces where municipalities can jointly mobilize partnerships, resources, and delivery capacity around concrete priorities. This approach supports SDG localization in practice, using horizontal city-to-city and multi-stakeholder collaboration consistent with SDG 17 to help move SDG 11 from planning ambition to visible, citizen-centred outcomes. The session is co-organized by the Joint Cooperation Unit of Ramallah, Al-Bireh and Beitunia, the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government, the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA), and the UCLG Learning platform. Insights gained through UCLG Learning helped refine the Project Platforms concept as a DC-enabled pathway grounded in SDG partnerships. WUF13 is used not to present a finished model, but to strengthen an emerging implementation approach through peer exchange and learning from comparable global practices. Objectives: 1. Showcase joint planning aligned with SDG 11 and reflect on delivery barriers 2. Explore DC as a practical pathway for SDG localization beyond grant-dependence 3. Introduce Project Platforms for cross-boundary delivery while preserving autonomy 4. Enable peer learning on jointly operationalizing SDG 11 and SDG 17 for shareable, scalable solutions 5. Refine the approach through dialogue and feedback.