Reflection of the United Nations sustainable development goals on municipalities: Turkey, Germany and United Kingdom applications

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which envisage development to take place worldwide and consist of 17 goals and 169 related goals, were adopted by 193 countries that are members of the United Nations in 2015. Sustainable development goals, which focus on solving social, environmental and economic problems, are expected to be achieved by 2030. Municipalities with certain financial resources, authorities and duties have a remarkable position in terms of achieving sustainable development goals. In this study, it is aimed to understand the sustainable development goals and objectives of these goals in all details, to emphasize the role of municipalities in this regard and to draw attention to the importance of municipalities, to understand the experiences in this field by examining the municipal practices in Turkey, Germany and United Kingdom, and to form the basis for mutual policy transfers. In addition, it is aimed to encourage municipal governments to play an active role in decision-making processes in order to achieve sustainable development goals, and to make suggestions that support and strengthen policies that will contribute to the realization of sustainable development goals. In this study, which consists of three parts, the theoretical infrastructure on the subject has been created, 17 sustainable development goals and 169 related goals have been examined in detail, and the relationship between sustainable development goals and municipalities has been revealed. The reflection of the sustainable development goals on the municipalities has been discussed within the scope of the implementation examples in Turkey, Germany and United Kingdom. With the completion of the study, it was determined that Turkey, Germany and United Kingdom could not fully achieve their sustainable development goals. It was concluded that municipalities contributed to the achievement of sustainable development goals, but were insufficient.