The Sustainable Development Goals are a model for L.A., and L.A. is a model for the world.

Applied to Los Angeles, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a powerful measure of how well the City is improving quality of life for its residents.

The SDGs provide a framework to connect work here in L.A. to efforts in other urban centers around the world. The Fund has worked with the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to develop this work, which has included the City’s first Voluntary Local Review in 2017 and a second Voluntary Local Review in 2021. LA’s work across all 17 Global Goals is rooted in community based partnerships and actions and includes efforts to fight inequality and poverty, reinforce safety-net programs and demonstrate sustainable development.

In support of this work, the City developed an OpenSDG Data Reporting Platform, an SDG Activities Index, two Voluntary Local Reviews, and engaged over 160 students through vibrant academic partnerships with five local universities: Occidental College, University of Southern California, Arizona State University, University of California Los Angeles, and the Claremont Colleges.

This work is an opportunity for the City to partner with other global cities on methodology and knowledge sharing. Taking the initiative to report our progress puts Los Angeles at the vanguard of local implementation. It signals the importance of recognizing how cities contribute to the dialogue on sustainable development, and the direct role we play in furthering this global agenda.

In the years ahead, we hope that the conversation on how cities are localizing the SDGs will take center stage.