sdg 11 has been stalled by the covid-19 pandemic. due to the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic, this goal is increasingly less likely to be achieved in a timely manner. all the un member states are committed to following up their progress towards implementing the 2030 agenda and its goals and targets. almost all the un member states have presented their national progress towards the sdgs through voluntary national review (vnr). despite the importance of cities within the sustainable development framework, only a few initiatives have emerged to assess progress towards the sdgs on a city scale. challenges main article: sustainable development goals § challenges impacts of covid-19 pandemic cities in many countries were epicentres of covid-19. approximately 60% of covid-19 cases have been found in urban areas, shedding light onto the function of cities in generating and accelerating the pandemic. both congestion and increased mobility in cities have been named as some of the major contributors to the spread of epidemics through aerosols, droplets and fomities. the covid-19 pandemic has illuminated the deeply rooted inequalities in the cities, which is reflected in disproportionate pandemic-related impacts on migrants, the homeless, and the residents of urban slums and informal settlements. the success of sdg 11 post-pandemic requires concerted action on the part of governments at all levels, civil society and development partners. during the crisis, cities have emerged as drivers of economic recovery, centres of innovation and catalysts for social and economic transformation. smart city technologies and solutions have contributed to resilience in cities by facilitating gathering and exchange of information in real time, decreasing risk, and enhancing planning, absorption and adaptation abilities. links with other sdgs sdg 11 interlinks with many of the other sdgs. first, the impact on health (sdg 3, target 3.9) of city dwellers, as well as improve cities resilience to natural and climate change-induced disasters. it is related to sdg 6 (target 6.1, 6.2 and 6.5), sdg 12 (target 12.4), sdg 14 (target 14.3) lastly, reducing the impact of communicable diseases and maternal and children mortality which can be found under sdg 3 (targets 3.2 and 3.3). furthermore, sdg 11 interlinks with sdg 13 on climate action: the world's cities account for 60–80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions (this is because 4.2 billion people, or 55 percent of the world's population, lived in cities in 2018). organizations un system united for smart sustainable cities initiative (u4ssc) which has been pilot to monitor urban-environment related sustainable development goals (sdgs) projects inter-american development bank (idb) un industrial development organization (unido) un economic commission for africa (eca) united nations international strategy for disaster reduction (unisdr) united nations human settlements programme. major ngos the following ngos and other organizations are helping to achieve sdg 11: c40 cities is a network of the world's megacities committed to addressing climate change, it is taking bold climate action and leading the way towards having a more sustainable future. c40 also offers cities an effective forum to collaborate, share knowledge and drive meaningful action on climate change. iclei is committed to sustainable urban development. it helps members to make their cities and regions sustainable, low-carbon, resilient, ecomobile, biodiverse, resource-efficient and healthy, with a green economy and smart infrastructure. 100rc developed by the rockefeller foundation helps cities around the world to become more resilient to physical, social, and economic shocks and stresses and it supports the adoption and incorporation of a view of resilience that includes not just the shocks, earthquakes, fires, floods, but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day to day or cyclical basis. examples at country level canada the canadian federal government has allotted $10 billion cad over 3 years to the canadian infrastructure bank to begin investing in green projects across the country focusing on areas such as transit, renewable energy, and building retrofits. the federal government is meeting its sdg 11.2 and sdg 11a targets by investing $1.5 billion in public transit and having 5000 busses in the next 5 years within a wider uplifting growth strategy to refocus the inequalities faced by different urban and rural regions in canada. the federal government has also seen a slight rise in the proportion of the urban population that lives in inadequate housing, rising from 12.5% in 2011 to 12.7% in 2016, moving away from lowering the goal of adequate housing.