AUTHOR=Zinkernagel Roland , Neij Lena 

TITLE=Localizing SDGs: the case of city planning in Malmö

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Cities

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-cities/articles/10.3389/frsc.2023.1154124

DOI=10.3389/frsc.2023.1154124

ISSN=2624-9634

ABSTRACT=Cities have an important role to play in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to mobilise sustainability at the urban level. Yet, municipalities encounter challenges in localising the SDGs into their governance structures, and there is a need to advance our understanding of cities strengths and weaknesses in such processes. In this article we provide knowledge and reflections gained in analysing the process of localising the SDGs into the spatial planning of Smörkajen, a former industrial harbour site in Malmö, Sweden. By applying the analytical framework of Institutional Capacity Building, the study explores the process of localising the SDGs in terms of building relational and knowledge capacities and to provide mobilisation capacity by the formation of a sustainability strategy. The results illustrate an inclusive approach supporting relational capacity and numerous measures to enhance knowledge capacity, bringing about the formation of a draft sustainability strategy, strongly supported by the municipal participants. But rather than formally adopting the full strategy in the spatial planning of the Smörkajen area, the results of the process were only to be considered to the extent the traditional documents and processes allowed. In all, the results illustrate a strong support for the use of localised SDGs among municipal administrative units to mobilise sustainability, but also the challenges in actually implementing these in the formal planning and development process.