No one left behind: Three daring cities embedding equity for sustainable urban development

By Barbara Riedemann and Nandita Mathews from ICLEI World Secretariat

The Malmö Commitment pledges social equity as the core of sustainable urban development, building a network of pioneer local and regional governments working together on inclusive approaches. At the Daring Cities 2024 Virtual Forum, Santa Fe, Argentina; Pittsburgh, USA; and Turku, Finland, took center stage, showcasing how they are adopting equity-focused strategies for an inclusive transition—setting a path for other cities to follow suit.

Santa Fe, Argentina: Building neighborhood networks

“A neighborhood is defined as a space of proximity, closeness, and familiarity—the primary place of social experience. It is within neighborhoods that residents inscribe their life stories, generating emotional ties of belonging, ownership, and identity with the place they live,” said Lucila Garcia, Director of the International Cooperation Agency, City of Santa Fe.

As part of the city’s Territorial Strategy 2023-2027, the SantaFeBarrio program enhances living conditions and strengthens social bonds through three key strategies: physical, social, and symbolic. The physical aspect focuses on infrastructure upgrades, while the social dimension fosters community engagement through local organizations. The symbolic dimension preserves cultural identity by exploring residents’ emotions, beliefs, and customs.

Since December 2023, Santa Fe has intervened in 20 of its 87 neighborhoods, developing “neighborhood networks” that connect residents based on shared interests, supporting education, health, employment, and cultural activities. These networks promote solidarity and help address local challenges.

One example is the Basura Barrio por Barrio project, which combines traditional garbage collection with recycling efforts led by residents and microenterprises to reduce micro dumps, a priority for the city.

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic created global financial challenges, Pittsburgh asked, “How can we repurpose the budget to make a meaningful impact on climate change?” With no new funds available, the city built a priority-based budget by partnering with ResourceX. This software company developed this budgeting method for local governments to map every dollar a city spends to a specific program and then score each of them according to how it achieves the city’s priorities based on climate and equity targets.

Patrick Cornell, Chief Financial Officer of the City of Pittsburgh, explained, “By evaluating how each program aligned with the mayor’s priorities, we could make more strategic decisions. We could answer how we can free up dollars for future climate initiatives.” The city identified over 90 initiatives and US$ 41 million that could be reallocated for climate actions, including reducing paper use and adopting eco-friendly procurement practices.

The next phase applied this framework to the 2022 budget, where 215 initiatives underwent a sustainability review by the Department of City Planning, and 16 were identified as having a clear climate benefit, with 37 showing some benefit. When a new mayor, Ed Gainey, took office in 2022, the city continued championing Priority-Based Budgeting. This approach now helps align every city program with Mayor Gainey’s 11 priorities, focusing on safe neighborhoods, welcoming communities, and thriving people.

Turku, Finland: Adopting circular solutions

If you visit Turku, you might spot Lieke, the world’s first electric library bus, providing emissions-free lending services. In Turku, one-third of public buses are electric, covering over 50% of the city’s rides. To reach carbon neutrality by 2029 and become a resource-wise society by 2040, Turku has embraced the circular economy through a bottom-up approach.

The Circular Turku project, developed with support from ICLEI and Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, led to the 2021 Circular Turku Roadmap, which focuses on five key areas: energy systems, food value chains, water cycles, buildings and construction, and transport and logistics. Workshops with over 200 stakeholders, including city administration, businesses, academia, and civil society, helped shape these priorities.

“We need everyone—businesses, academic organizations, communities, and residents—to join the effort. It’s crucial that residents hold the city accountable for ensuring sustainability leads to real improvements in citizens’ welfare,” said Iris Kriikkula, Project Manager of Circular Economy, City of Turku.

Aligned with the Turku Climate Plan 2029, the city ensures its circular economy transition is fair and inclusive. Key initiatives include the Energy Positive Student Village, offering affordable housing and sustainable energy options to students, and the Wise Food Project, which promotes resource-efficient food practices and supports local producers. Other projects, like the Intermediate Space Model, repurpose unused urban spaces for cultural and economic activities, while the Creative Circular Cities project uses art and culture to introduce circular economy concepts to residents.

*This blog was written based on the Daring Cities 2024 Virtual Forum session, “No one left behind: Equity-focused tools for an inclusive transition.” Watch the recording here.