This theme focusses on the role of the local scale in sustainability transformations. A growing share of the world's population lives in urban areas. Urbanization of the planet thus continues, but with different regional dynamics contrasting e.g. rapid expansion in much of Africa or South-East Asia with stagnation and shrinkage in Europe or East-Asia. Urbanization also affects livelihoods in rural areas losing their social and economic foundations. The resulting sustainability challenges are huge. They relate to multiple tiers of government and arenas of governance, and play out differently in the global North and South according to levels of affluence.

Theme VI relates especially to SDG 11, but is closely interlinked with all other SDGs. There are 2 topic groups: