Tracking Progress

In the Red: the US Failure to Deliver on a Promise of Racial Equality

In the Red: the US Failure to Deliver on a Promise of Racial Equality extends SDSN USA’s recent report, Never More Urgent, which explores the policy choices underlying racial inequality in the US. This index seeks to explore the following question: How far are states from achieving the SDGs, if their progress is measured by the experiences of those who have been least served by development progress?

America's Zero Carbon Action Plan

The ZCAP lays out a strategy for putting Americans back to work building a vibrant 21st century U.S. economy based on advanced technologies, good jobs, clean energy, climate safety, and economic security. The strategy for transitioning from the fossil fuel status quo to a low-carbon energy future builds on four pillars: (1) using energy more efficiently (2) decarbonizing electricity; (3) switching from fossil fuel combustion to electricity in most current uses; and (4) carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Never More Urgent: A Preliminary Review of How the U.S. is Leaving Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous Communities Behind

Created in conjunction with the National Center for Faith Based Initiatives and Howard University, Never More Urgent: A Preliminary Review of How the U.S. is Leaving Black, Hispanic and Indigenous Communities Behind, examines how well the United States, and US states in particular, serve communities of color by using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a tool for evaluating performance. In doing so we affirm the potential of these communities as a driver for sustainable development, through the specific contributions that they can make throughout society.

2019 US Cities Sustainable Development Report

The 2019 US Cities Sustainable Development Report, released in July 2019, is SDSN’s third city-level report ranking 105 US cities on progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs). The results show that there will be significant work to do across the board if the SDGs are to be achieved by 2030, as cities on average scored only 48.9%.

A Pathway to Sustainable American Cities: A Guide to Implementing the SDGs

Since 2015, cities across the United States have begun incorporating the SDGs to reinforce their existing sustainability plans and to provide a common language to discuss goals among peer cities. Since then, SDSN has proudly been a partner to the cities at the forefront of this movement through the USA Sustainable Cities Initiative, partnering with key stakeholders in cities such as Baltimore, San Jose, New York and Los Angeles. The ranks of cities who have understood the benefits of the SDG framework have continued to grow.

2017 U.S. Cities SDG Index

America is the world’s richest large economy, with the world’s leading technologies and institutions of higher learning. Yet, the United States of America (U.S.) is falling behind other countries on a range of indicators relating to quality-of-life, economic opportunity, and environmental management. Nowhere is this problem more apparent than in American cities, which are home to 62.7 percent of the domestic population. This U.S. Cities SDG Index aims to set a framework for action and help urban leaders address the many sustainable development challenges affecting their cities. The Index covers the 100 most populous cities (measured as Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs).