Cities’ review of the sustainable development goals and insights from voluntary local reviews

Progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been insufficient, partly due to weak policy follow-up and review (FUR) at all government levels. While local governments are key to implementing the SDGs, the country-centric design of the 2030 Agenda hinders effective local-level FUR. To address this shortcoming, local governments have initiated FUR through Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs). Here, we analyze 151 VLR reports published in 2018–2022 to explore how cities are following up and reviewing the SDGs. Our results indicate that cities often prioritize a subset of SDGs in their VLRs, focusing on reviewing actions rather than conducting quantitative, indicator-based assessments. City-level factors—such as resource availability, size, growth, and experience in conducting VLRs—combined with national and international influences, shape the approaches and scope of SDG reviews. This analysis highlights challenges cities face in engaging with the SDGs, underscoring the need for local perspectives in designing global sustainability agendas.