A compilation of how-to briefs on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was locally compiled by the Brookings Institution. This on-going compilation features member cities (including Yokohama City, Japan) of the SDG Leadership Cities Network, which was launched in 2019 with the leadership of Brookings. The briefs focus on the process and mechanism of SDG-aligned city initiatives rather than their achievements, for the purpose of sharing a city’s experience and knowledge with other cities, and local officials in charge of the practice author the briefs. The first compilation of briefs for the SDGs playbook was announced in December 2020 featuring four cities (Bristol, Los Angeles, Buenos Ailes, and Mexico City), with Yokohama and New York City being included in the second compilation.

The SDG Leadership Cities Network has held multiple convenings, and discussed challenges cities face and better policies for achieving the SDGs based on member cities’ current practices. Participants not only shared their practices among the other members, but these practices and the essence of these discussions were reflected in the Brookings report which is publicly open. In addition, as a spin off of the convening of the SDG Leadership Cities Network, the Brookings Institute delivered a series of fire chats featuring city leaders promoting SDGs locally. Since its inception, the Cities Network recognizes the important role of cities in promoting and implementing the SDGs, and continues to promote and enable discussions that contribute to city policymaking.

However, the SDG progress is far behind its goals overall. Supporting the progression of developing countries is indispensable for the global achievement of the SDGs according to the progress reviews during the UN Summit in 2019 and High Level Political Forum in 2020. The City of Yokohama has been helping tackling urban problems in developing and emerging cities of the world which might have insufficient experience, know-how, and technology to enable the right solutions. The brief written by the City of Yokohama in this most recent Brookings compilation dealt with Yokohama’s experience of its inter-city cooperation initiatives, enabled through partnership with private sectors, as its main theme. The brief is available from the following link:

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/City-playbook_Yokohama.pdf

Full playbook and all briefs available here:

https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/city-playbook-for-advancing-the-sdgs/

Read more about Yokohama’s efforts toward the SDGs