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Sustainable cities and communities (GOAL 11)

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

The world’s population is constantly increasing. To accommodate everyone, we need to build modern, sustainable cities. For all of us to survive and prosper, we need new, intelligent urban planning that creates safe, affordable and resilient cities with green and culturally inspiring living conditions.

SDG 11 Workflows & Tutorials

These tutorials use problem-solving exercises to give you hands-on learning experiences with real-world GIS applications.

Create a community walkability survey

Build a survey to capture observations on a community walkability assessment and visualize the results on a map.

Map and analyze the urban heat island effect

Visualize the urban heat island effect in Richmond, Virginia, using analysis tools in ArcGIS Online and share your results using ArcGIS Dashboards.

Map the impact of housing shortage on oil workers

Examine North Dakota's housing problem by mapping federal data.

Classify areas by degree of urbanization

Implement the United Nations-endorsed degree of urbanization method to classify urban and rural areas across a territory.

Assess access to public transit

Determine those areas in a city most in need of a new bus line.

Evaluate Ethiopia's changing landscape

Use the Change Detection Wizard to identify land cover and NDVI change in Ethiopia.

Assess open space to lower flood insurance cost

Preserve flood-prone land to reduce flood insurance for communities.

Map hurricane storm surges

Use global elevation data to predict how storm surges will flood coastlines.

Design a resilient mixed-use neighborhood

Use ArcGIS Urban to locate suitable parcels for the development of a flood-resistant, mixed-use neighborhood in Suva, Fiji.

Evaluate locations for mixed-use development

Use map analysis to determine which areas should be prioritized for affordable housing development.

Map floods with SAR data and deep learning

Use a deep learning pretrained model to extract water pixels from pre- and post- flood Sentinel-1 datasets, and perform change detection analysis to identify flooded areas in the St. Louis, Missouri region in 2019.

Investigate pollution patterns with space-time analysis

Find regions of the world where pollution patterns are extreme or unusual.

Calculate travel time for a tsunami

Use ArcGIS Pro to determine the number of hours it would take a tsunami to reach Virginia Beach, USA.

Tell the story of Irish public history

Gain historical insight by mapping fatalities during the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland.

Convert a list of historic places into a map

Use geocoding to map some of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Africa.

Plan for urban change in Cancún

Use ArcGIS Urban to visualize planning scenarios alongside a new park in Cancún, Mexico.

Assess urban tree health using contingent values

Explore and enhance a geodatabase feature class with contingent values that incorporate required details needed for a tree assessment.

Make a dashboard to monitor wildfires

Create a dashboard showing a map of active wildfires and key indicators.

SDG 11 Quick Reads & Videos

Sustainable Development Goals Solution Released

The Sustainable Development Goals solution delivers a set of capabilities that help governments share progress made on Sustainable Development Goals.

Maps Serve as a Compass for the SDGs

We have less than eight years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Maps can help us better understand them and monitor progress.

Geospatial Technology Forms Basis of Digital Twin of Pompeii

For a team of archaeologists, GIS offers an effective way to collect data and quickly disseminate project findings in compelling formats.

Facilitating Solar Energy Production While Protecting Biodiversity

A GIS-based system for conducting site suitability assessments is helping Indonesia determine the optimum locations for solar plants.

Smart Surveys Give San Bernardino County a Better Way to Measure Homelessness

Volunteers used ArcGIS Survey123 for this year’s point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness. The results were invaluable.

Taking a Data-Driven Approach to Affordable Housing

Any conversation that planners and administrators have today about community resilience has to include a sustainable housing policy.

World Bank Deploys GIS Dashboard to Improve Railway Safety in Croatia

To better identify sections that need maintenance or could become commerce choke points, Esri partner SymGEO implemented ArcGIS Dashboards.

Using 3D to Entice Urban Redevelopment

The Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) turned to 3D mapping to creatively market its metropolitan areas.

Tribe Launches ArcGIS Software-Based Cultural Resource System

The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians launched the Tribal-Cultural Resource Information System (T-CRIS) using ArcGIS.

The GIS That’s Changing Traditional Emergency Response and Recovery

GIS is an essential part of the operations of the American Red Cross in responding to emergencies.

Explore 19 Years of Global Air Quality in Living Atlas

ArcGIS Living Atlas now contains global air quality content derived from 19 years of NASA SEDAC data. See how air quality has changed over time.

Visualizing Park Access Around the United States

ParkServe - a new interactive platform that park planners, city officials, and park advocates can use to map and analyze parks nationwide.

Mekong Infrastructure Tracker Provides a Regional Perspective on Sustainability

Scientists at the Stimson Center monitor the impact of hydroelectric power projects on the Mekong River in Asia.

Real-Time GIS Apps Quicken Response to Earthquake in Albania

Location-based surveys and dashboards helped citizens, local agencies, and international organizations work together.

Utility’s Location-Based Damage Assessment Kick-Starts a Digital Transformation

After a destructive windstorm, Avista Utilities implemented ArcGIS for damage assessments. Then, the utility augmented its GIS entirely.

How the Ferguson Fire Extended GIS in the Field for Resource Advising

During the Ferguson Fire, ArcGIS technology transformed resource advising from a cumbersome process into a near real-time operation.

Facing Sea Level Rise, Miami Beach Uses GIS to Prioritize Mitigation Projects

Miami Beach, Florida, is one of the most vulnerable areas for sea level rise in the United States.

The Business Value of Sustainability

Leading companies are discovering compelling links between corporate citizenhip and profitable business with ArcGIS.

What 2019’s Smartest Cities Have in Common

The tactics used by members of the 2019 smartest cities list reveal how important location intelligence is to civic success.

Cities Prioritize Climate Resilience to Lure Businesses

Cities, which once wooed businesses by touting advantages like low taxes and a strong workforce, now must also show that they’re resilient to climate threats.

ML Aids Geospatial Assessment for Disaster Response

Machine learning and ArcGIS working together can save tiem during natural disasters.

Counting Trees

The city of Austin leveraged ArcGIS Dashboards to inventory thousands of trees in an effort to preserve and expand the city's urban forest.

Be Wildfire Aware with this new application

Esri's Wildfire Aware application brings together 22 layers to facilitate understanding about wildfires and surrounding areas.

Planning for Sea Level Rise

The city of Boston is using new mapping tools to stay above water.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Explore place-based stories, created with ArcGIS StoryMaps, that examine historical to modern factors that shape cities around the world and the approaches being taken to achieve sustainable futures.

Advancing Equity and Inclusion: LA Metro's Vision and Strategy

KeAndra Cylear Dodds from LA Metro talks about how mapping and technology are helping reduce inequality of transportation access in LA.

GIS Aids Housing Equity

A university research lab in Beirut, Lebanon, created a database of rental information and shared it using an online map.

Using GIS to Map the Way to Housing Equity

GIS plays a critical role in the zoning reform needed to deal with the housing shortage.

Wildland Fire GIS Specialists Connect on Esri Community

The Wildfire Response GIS user group gives members a place to go to troubleshoot issues, find new geospatial solutions, and more.

Harnessing Geospatial Technology to Support Early Flood Warning in Nigeria

A youth-led nonprofit organization in Nigeria used Africa Geoportal to create flood maps and applications to help support communities.

Vermont Speeds Flood Response with ArcGIS Online and Site Scan for ArcGIS

A team at the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory employed GIS tools and drones for flooding disaster response in July 2023.

Córdoba Implements GIS to Boost Smart Community Strategy

Argentina uses geospatial tools to help the city of Córdoba improve efficiency, become more inclusive, and promote sustainability.

Cloud-Based Imagery Sharing Helps UK Preserve Land, Historical Sites

With ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online, staff at the UK’s National Trust can better visualize heritage sites and make more informed decisions.

Designing a Fiscally Resilient City with ArcGIS Urban

Texas city uses ArcGIS Urban to intelligently guide its development.