Sustainable Development Goal 11 focuses on making cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
This involves improving public access to learning, promoting culture and the arts, improving public green spaces and services, protecting cultural and community heritage, supporting social inclusion and participation; and ensuring that the places where people live, work and learn are healthy, accessible and environmentally sustainable.
Universities have an important role to play in achieving this goal through research, education, cultural engagement, community partnerships and stewardship of their own estates.
At ARU, SDG 11 cuts across a number of our core strategic priorities as a civic institution. We work with communities, local authorities, businesses and civil society organisations to create places where people can thrive. Our activities range from supporting educational participation among underrepresented communities and preserving cultural heritage, to conducting research that informs sustainable development and community resilience.
Research linked to SDG 11 is focused on finding ways for places to become more inclusive, resilient and environmentally sustainable while responding to pressures from climate change and population growth.
At ARU, we're training students of architecture, town planning, civil engineering and construction to design resilient and environmentally responsible places.
We're promoting sustainable development across our estates, from lower-carbon buildings and greener travel to biodiversity, climate resilience and responsible use of resources.
As a civic university, we work with local authorities, businesses, charities, voluntary organisations, public services and community groups to connect university expertise with the needs and ambitions of the places we serve.
Last updated: October 2026
To request additions, corrections or changes to the information in these pages, please contact: Dr Zareen Bharucha: [email protected]. Please use the subject line ‘ARU SDG’.