The world continues to urbanize. In the 100 years starting 1913, the proportion of theworld’s population that lives in cities grew 5-fold from 10% to 50%, and estimatessuggest that 75% of the world’s population will live in cities in 2050. Though historyreveals that urbanization has always been an accelerator of growth anddevelopment, it also poses profound challenges for corporates, communities, cities,and countries. A recent McKinsey report succinctly notes: “Cities are essential to globaleconomic growth and productivity. They are where most of the world’s population live,work, and play, and they are important to everyone else, too. They are the world’seconomic engine, consuming the majority of global power and resources, whilegenerating 80 percent of GDP and 70 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions. Makingcities great is the critical infrastructure challenge of this century.” At the same time, the“2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations MemberStates in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people andthe planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed anddeveloping - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and otherdeprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health andeducation, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – “all while tackling climatechange and working to preserve our oceans and forests.” The purpose of the 2025Spring GNW course are to help students across the GNAM: • Critique the challengesand opportunities of the implementation of the UN SDGs in securing inclusiveprosperity • Evaluate how local and regional context shapes the challenges andopportunities facing global cities, and how cities can be a leverage point for otherSDGs • Develop and defend a point of view regarding the value of transdisciplinaryand multi-stakeholder for cities to shape resilience and inclusive prosperity.