The OECD, UN-Habitat and Cities Alliance are delighted to introduce the Global State of National Urban Policy 2021: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Delivering Climate Action, the second edition of the joint report developed as part of the National Urban Policy Programme (NUPP), launched in 2016 at the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador, to share experiences in NUP and support countries through the expertise of the three organisations and partners.

Global State of National Urban Policy 2021: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Delivering Climate Action provides a comprehensive review of national urban policy (NUP) in 162 countries around the globe. This global monitoring report, produced by the OECD, UN-Habitat and Cities Alliance, showcases how countries use NUP to enhance sustainable urban development, advance global agendas and address challenges magnified or revealed by the COVID-19 crisis. It also provides ten recommendations for NUP to build better cities, and develop an integrated, multi-level and strategic vision for cities after COVID-19.

The COVID-19 crisis shed light on the potential of national urban policy (NUP) to shape more resilient, green and inclusive cities with the duty shared across levels of government. Before the pandemic, more than 90 countries explicitly used NUP to set a common vision, align sectoral policies, foster rural-urban linkages, address socio-spatial inequalities, and facilitate multi-level dialogues for a balanced, polycentric and higher-quality urbanisation that delivers inclusive and sustainable growth and well-being for all. Whilst COVID-19 magnified existing and well-known urban challenges, it also built social and political acceptance of future-proof policy reforms required by cities of all sizes.

This chapter presents the objectives and methodology of the report. The chapter begins by introducing the context in which global monitoring of national urban policy (NUP) is conducted, including why NUP has become a focus for governments. An overarching objective of the report is to support policymakers by providing robust data and evidence on how countries use NUP to enhance sustainable urban development, advance global agendas and address challenges magnified or revealed by the COVID-19 crisis. The methodology applied for this report builds and expands on the first edition launched in 2018. Major improvements include a dedicated country survey on NUP extended to 86 countries and two new thematic strands offering more specific evidence in relation to the role of NUP in (1) advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and other global urban agendas, and (2) spearheading a systems approach to build low-carbon and climate-resilient cities.

This chapter examines perceptions of national urban policy (NUP) in policy environments across countries. Definitions of NUP and key outcomes countries aim to achieve vary, but they commonly refer to a coherent set of decisions towards a common vision for urban development and to facilitate inter-sectoral and inter-regional co‑ordination. The COVID-19 crisis raised the profile of NUP as key to more resilient, greener and more inclusive cities and part of countries’ recovery packages. Beyond the public health emergency, the pandemic prompted cities to rethink how they deliver services, how they plan their space and how they can resume economic growth. Overall, the chapter underlines the need for more granular and contextualised NUP monitoring and for sharing knowledge and experience on NUP through multi-stakeholder dialogues, peer-learning and collaboration in global platforms.

This chapter presents key trends and characteristics of NUP in terms of form, contents, stage, thematic scope and institutions. All 162 countries studied have national-level urban policies, although in different forms, at different development stages and with varying thematic foci. Based on a comprehensive survey across 86 countries, combined with desk research information for an additional 76 countries, the chapter reveals that NUPs matured since the first edition of the global monitoring in 2018. They take more explicit forms, advanced to implementation stage and integrate wider social and environmental objectives, including climate resilience.

This chapter explores key factors for successful NUP processes, by analysing mechanisms for policy alingment and co-ordinatation, stekeholder engagement, and implementation and capacity gaps. Stakeholder engagement is key for better policy prioritisation in formulating and implementing NUP, which can also guide countries, regions and cities to more concerted alignment of their actions and agendas. In addition, conducive constitutional and legislative frameworks, national-subnational co-financing arrangements, the capacity and performance of local government, and democracy and transparency in governance, are important enabling factors.

This chapter explores how countries collect data and use monitoring and evaluation to improve the national urban policy (NUP) process. It examines data sources used in the NUP process, types of NUP monitoring and evaluation frameworks, as well as how the results are used. The chapter also discusses effective design of NUP monitoring and evaluation frameworks, including aligning NUP targets and indicators with the Sustainable Development Goals and other global indicators. Finally, the chapter presents selected internatioanl initiatives to address demand for urban-scale data and develop a more robust and internationally comparable framework.

This chapter presents a new analysis of the links between national urban policy (NUP) and the global urban-related agendas. It analyses how countries recognise NUP’s potential to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda (NUA), the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Since a country’s NUP is now officially a part of the SDGs indicator framework (SDG 11.a.1), the chapter also measures how NUPs fulfil the criteria. NUP’s potenital to advance the SDGs is measured not only for Goal 11 but other goals. Finally, the chapter discusses how to align and co‑ordinate between NUP and SDGs implementation from the perspectives of institutions and monitoring frameworks.

This chapter analyses the extent to which national urban policy (NUP) addresses issues related to climate adaptation and mitigation, and related challenges and co-ordination mechanisms. Climate action features prominently in most NUPs within traditional urban planning priorities (e.g. the built environment) and among a growing share of NUPs exploring innovative mechanisms, such as local greenhouse gas emission inventories. Countries identify that urban climate interventions generate multiple, related benefits such as more sustainable mobility and reduced pollution. However, they also highlight knowledge gaps and a lack of co-ordination as challenges in integrating climate change in NUP.