This century is expected to be characterized by heavy urbanization patterns, according to the UN forecast, with over 2.5 billion more people living in urban areas by year 2050 (FN 2018). With more people living in cities worldwide, the demand for better urban development and more effective ways to handle economic, social and environmental issues are being sought after. In this study, a qualitative content analysis has been made to investigate how UN Global goal 7, 11, 12 and 15 are being expressed in some of Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm sustainability strategies. The purpose of this study has been to understand how these Nordic actors are planning their own cities, in relation to contemporary environmental challenges, based on the content and meaning of the global goals. The results show that the content of the chosen goals was present in their strategies. There were more similarities in expressions, than differences, between the cities, where technology, growth and environment was highlighted to enable a better life for more people. At numerous occasions the cities positioned themselves as optimistic towards greener cities and put forward an array of different initiatives and measures e.g. related to renewable energy, resource efficiency and green spaces. The prerequisites of the cities in accomplishing their goals depends on a set of different factors. Good implementation and perceptiveness to the surrounding socio-political situation are some essential elements to regard if they are to succeed with their plans. / Det här århundradet förväntas enligt FN:s prognoser att präglas av kraftig urbanisering i stora delar av världen, med 2.5 miljarder fler människor i urbana områden till år 2050 (FN 2018). När allt fler människor bosätter sig i städer ställer det högre krav på att utveckla fungerande och effektiva sätt att hantera de ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga utmaningar som kan tänkas uppstå av en sådan förändring. I den här studien har en kvalitativ innehållsanalys genomförts för att undersöka hur FN:s hållbarhetsmål 7, 11, 12 och 15 uttrycks i några av Köpenhamns, Oslos och Stockholms hållbarhetsstrategier. Syftet har varit att undersöka hur de här nordiska aktörerna planerar sina städer, med hänseende till dagens miljöutmaningar och avgränsningen har varit de utvalda hållbarhetsmålens innehåll och mening. Resultatet visar att innehållet i dessa mål gick att spåra i städernas strategier. Städernas uttryck präglades av fler likheter än skillnader, där teknologi, tillväxt och miljö var faktorer som kan kombineras och leda till ett bättre liv för fler människor i städerna. De positionerade sig vid flera tillfällen som optimistiska till att leda utvecklingen mot grönare städer och framförde en rad olika gröna initiativ, exempelvis inom förnyelsebar energi, resurseffektivare system och grönområden. Förutsättningarna för att städerna ska uppnå sina mål beror på en rad faktorer. Klart är dock att de är beroende av god implementering, samt att de behöver vara lyhörda mot omgivande socio-politiska beslut och händelser om deras strategier ska lyckas.

It is now common for managers, strategists, planners and citizens at municipality level to use sustainable development indicators (SDI) to help them work towards sustainable development. SDI constitute an information system for monitoring, reporting and decision-making which in theory should help us decide how to intervene in natural, economic, social and political systems for a better, more sustainable future. But not all indicator systems are created equal. Some are better tools than others when it comes to helping cities and municipalities in their work, and thousands of municipalities use SDI worldwide. How then should we assess the effectiveness of existing indicators for municipalities? To answer this question I develop an approach for assessing the edesign, creation and communication of existing, in-use SDI, and then apply it in a case study in Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden. The approach assesses five aspects of SDI: ‘Vision’, ‘Framework’, ‘Indicator Selection’, ‘Stakeholder Participation’ and ‘Communication’. The findings in Falun suggest that SDI have been essential to the implementation of sustainable development in policy and action in general municipal operations, but the municipality has not moved beyond a ‘conventional’ sustainable development vision and monitoring strategy. The benefits and constraints of the current indicator system are then discussed using the above approach, and the thesis finishes by offering suggestions for the municipality going forward. I also point to the need to develop a standardised assessment method for thousands of municipalities using indicator systems used today, to help in ongoing review and improvement of SDI in practice.