GIS and Sustainable Development Goals

To track the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need more than just numbers; we need locations. Spatial Indicators are measurable data points tied to specific geographic coordinates. For example, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) uses the indicator of 'access to public transport.' Instead of just asking how many buses a city has, GIS maps the walking distance (usually 500m) from residential zones to bus stops. This spatial approach reveals 'transport deserts' that traditional statistics might miss. By layering demographic data over environmental maps, we can identify exactly where development is lagging.

Sustainable cities require nature. To monitor progress toward SDG 11.7, geographers calculate the Urban Green Space Ratio ($R_{gs}$). This is done by classifying satellite imagery into 'green' (vegetation) and 'non-green' (concrete/buildings) pixels. We use the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to identify healthy plants. Once the areas are calculated, we use the ratio of green area ($A_{g}$) to the total urban area ($A_{t}$). This metric helps urban planners decide where to plant new parks to mitigate the Urban Heat Island effect.

SDG 15 (Life on Land) focuses on protecting forests. Geographers use Temporal Analysis (comparing data over time) to monitor deforestation. By taking a 'baseline' image from year $T_1$ and comparing it to a 'current' image at year $T_2$, we can perform Change Detection. This allows us to calculate the Annual Deforestation Rate ($DR$). If a protected area shows a high $DR$, it triggers an immediate alert for conservationists to investigate illegal logging or land clearing.