SDG Spotlight: #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

One of the great things about the Sustainable Development Goals are their interconnections with each other and how working to progress one goal can also have positive benefits towards progress in another. Last time we highlighted SDG #3 Good Health and Wellbeing which is crucial for ensuring that we have thriving people to allow rural communities and the wider sector to also thrive. Thriving communities are a part of rural life and the wider sector that are so critical for the success of our primary industries, whether it be from financial, environmental or social perspectives. This week we highlight how SDG #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities is relevant for rural communities and the wider sector, and provide a meaningful reflection exercise to look at how you have, and are, contributing to SDG#11. We also highlight the awesome work of Rural Life and ODT Rural Champions who are examples of people doing great work in helping ensure we have sustainable communities in rural New Zealand.

What's SDG #11 about?

SDG #11 seeks to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The targets for this goal are focused on various issues such as:

Access to adequate, safe and affordable housing, and basic services
Access to safe, affordable and accessible transport systems
Safeguard and protect cultural and natural heritage
Access to green spaces
Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas

You may have read that list and thought ‘cool, but not very applicable to the everyday person’ or that it isn’t something you can have an impact on. It is easy to feel that way with some of these broader global targets but one thing that helps is to bring the focus back to the wider purpose of the goal, in this case – to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Let’s break it down further… What do the words inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable mean in the context of SDG #11? This may look different for everyone and that is totally okay. For me these words mean:

Inclusive refers to ensuring a sense of belonging for everyone irrespective of their background, identity, and so on. Everyone is welcomed for who they are and are respected.
I think about the word ‘safe’ in terms of ensuring that everyone feels secure and at ease, that there isn’t a feeling that you don’t belong or are not welcome in an environment.
Resilient has so many applications but I think it is about ensuring that communities are able to thrive now and into the future, but also be able to adapt and respond to adversity. It’s about ensuring that the community can handle whatever challenge it faces, even if it isn’t easy.
Sustainable for me means that inclusiveness, safety and resilience are things that are able to be maintained over time, rather than be fleeting or circumstantial. It’s about ensuring that the great things we do are able to be continued now and into the future.

These interpretations of the words are just examples of how I look at the purpose of SDG #11 and shows that if we look to understand a broader goal through our own worldview we can find a way to personally relate to it more. If we focus on it from this lens we can soon find ways that this goal is applicable to us and can ask ourselves ‘How do we make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable?‘

Why is SDG #11 important for rural communities and the wider sector?

The importance of rural communities isn’t lost on anyone who lives in one or is connected to one. SDG #11 and its focus on inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable communities has huge alignment with rural life and the wider rural sector. People are at the heart of all things rural and are what makes the sector tick so focusing on this remains crucial, now more than ever.

What are some of the ways that rural communities can have (and often are having) a positive impact on the goals defined in SDG #11?

Connection with community, whether it be sport, discussion groups, hobbies, coffee groups, school etc., has a profound impact on health and wellbeing. We know that mental health is an issue in rural communities so connecting through common activities allows for people within our communities to thrive.
Farmers connecting, talking, sharing and learning has a big role in knowledge sharing, seeing new perspectives and trying new things, which aids in allowing for greater resilience of farming systems from individual and community perspective.
Looking out for your neighbours and the willingness to help each other ensures that a sense of safety and resilience is embedded within community, which increases a sense of belonging as well.
People are super generous with their time, resources and/or money to ensure that others in the community have opportunities that have been a mainstay of their communities for a long time. We all have benefited from the kindness and generosity of our communities to support us and we don’t pass up the opportunity to help anyone in need.
Inclusion, safety, resilience and sustainability isn’t only something that is embedded in physical communities but is a real feature of the ag or ag-adjacent rural profession with huge camaraderie, support, generosity and much more, between rural professionals across the country. Online communities and connections provide a great sense of connection in a profession that can involve a lot of solitary work.

This isn’t an exhaustive list but a glimpse into the impact that rural communities have on ensuring that they are inclusive, resilient, safe and sustainable. Of course there are areas we can continue to improve but there is so much to celebrate in what we already do, even if it does feel like it is just something that we do as rural people. Rural life is hard but the focus on community is something unlike other parts of society.

A worthy reflection exercise

Have you ever taken the time to reflect on the positive impact that you have on your community?

Let’s park the kiwi attitude of being humble for a second. Every single one of you reading this will have had an incredible impact on community, whether that’s rural, professional, sport etc. and it’s really important to acknowledge what you have given to others. For many this may feel uncomfortable, and I get that, but it is about recognising your impact and contributions. Our communities wouldn’t be what they are without people who give passion, time, energy and resource.

You are having an impact now, you have in the past, and will continue to into the future.

I’d like you to take some time to get out pen and paper and write some things down. Take some time to reflect:

What have I contributed to my communities in the past?
How am I currently contributing to my communities?
What contributions are of most importance for me to continue and sustain into the future?
Are there any areas of my communities I would like the opportunity to contribute to into the future?

I think you’ll be surprised with just how many things you will add to that list. You’re all doing incredible things and it’s worth celebrating. Reflect, and treat yourself. You deserve it.

Celebrating Rural Champions

Over the last two years Sally Rae, Rural Life and the Otago Daily Times have put an awesome spotlight on Rural Champions: the unsung heroes of rural communities who make a positive and lasting impact. In 2023 Sally saw the need for celebration of New Zealand’s food producing champions. At a time when farmer confidence was low, and in an ever-challenging operating environment, it was decided that 2023 would be the Year of the Farmer as a way to acknowledge the contributions of those at the grass-roots.

Based on public nominations, Rural Champions aims to celebrate those who exemplify values like dedication, leadership and community spirit, in the face of challenging conditions in the rural sector. Semi-finalists are whittled down to five finalists and the final decision comes down to the judges. 2023 saw Myfanwy Alexander crowned Rural Champion. A great friend of The Whole Story, Myfanwy is the definition of someone who makes a positive and lasting impact whether it be through her podcast Ag in Conversation with Emily Walker, sharing the highs and lows of dairy farming through her social media, governance, supporting and championing others, and much more. People’s Choice Award for 2023 went to Sarah Foley-Smith of Geraldine High School – an agriculture teacher who runs a Primary Industry Academy at school to allow students to get out and do. Partnering with businesses, the Academy seeks to create a practical education in farming that harnesses the creation of skills that will aid in employment.

This initiative has been an incredible way of celebrating the awesome people of the rural sector who give their all to making our Food and Fibre sector and communities a better place. Igniting positivity and highlighting the good is so critical, and Sally Rae has well and truly provided a way for this to happen at scale.

The 2024 Rural Champions have recently been announced, and this year there was an additional category for Rural Service Provider to celebrate those who support the primary sector to thrive. Check out the winners and their stories below!