Berlin 31 October 2017—The Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on“Refining the Metadata Methodology for Monitoring SDG 11.2: by 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all”, was recently held in Berlin, Germany (http://www.urban-pathways.org/conference-agenda.html).

UN-Habitat is collaborating with governments, including national and local authorities, NGOs, private sector and other partners in promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 11 of “Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.

As the “custodian agency” for tracking progress on SDG 11.2 “access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all”, UN-Habitat has initiated consultations on the monitoring framework with diverse stakeholders. The aim of the EGM was to discuss and refine the existing draft metadata methodology for SDG 11.2 through stakeholder consensus and consultation with National Statistical Offices as well as city governments and transport authorities. Key principles of a standard methodology were agreed upon during the discussions – in order to refine and finalize the metadata methodology following the EGM.

Among around 30 participants were representatives of National Statistical Offices, National and Local Governments, Transport Authorities, as well as partner organizations such as the World Bank, the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), the International Transport Forum (ITF), the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the German Organisation for International Cooperation (GIZ), the World Resources Institute (WRI), Where is my Transport (South African start-up collecting public transport data for African cities) and Clean Air Asia.

It is expected that the final methodology will guide national and local governments in their efforts to collect, compute, analyze, and validate data and information and assist in the preparation of country-based reports. The EGM also discussed a Joint Monitoring Framework including a collaborative work plan.