This paper examines how collaboration between the City of Cleveland, United States, and local higher education institutions (HEIs) supports sustainable urban development, leveraging the availability and comparability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework and indicators as an instrument for cooperation and for monitoring outcomes. Despite the existence of a dense network of universities and research centres, the analysis finds that collaboration between the city and HEIs remains largely ad hoc and project-based and suggests that a shared framework such as the SDGs could provide a tool to co ordinate collective action on climate, housing, health, mobility and neighbourhood revitalisation in Cleveland. Strengthening structured partnerships, improving local data systems, leveraging universities’ convening capacity, and enhancing financial stability could improve policy co-ordination and accelerate Cleveland’s progress toward its urban sustainability objectives.
