Localising the Sustainable Development Goals. A Place‐Based Analysis of Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Areas

ABSTRACT There are increasing calls for a place‐based approach towards the Sustainable Development Goals that show their territorial diversity at subnational level. Based on 33 indicators, covering 13 SDGs and aggregated in three sub‐indexes (economy, social and environment), this paper develops a Sustainable Development Index for Rural and Urban Areas of Ireland (SDI‐RUI) with high resolution data gathered at Small Area level (18,919 units for Ireland). Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and a 6‐way rural–urban typology were used for a granular spatial analysis of sustainable development. Our analysis shows higher SDI‐RUI values in the west of the country, especially in rural locations not far from cities. Low values are within the main cities of the country and in remote locations. The analysis also indicates that rural areas with high and moderate urban influence present more balanced sub‐index scores and better overall SDI‐RUI values than urban areas and highly rural/remote areas, stressing the relevance of examining territorial rural–urban linkages for sustainable development. The paper shows regional and local spatial patterns of sustainable development, supporting the potential of using GIS methodologies and rural–urban classifications to develop place‐based policies and targeted measures related to the SDGs.