This book explores the role universities have to play in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the heart of “sustainable development” is the legacy of unsustainable development with its roots in modernity and colonialism. Critical engagement with the SDGs involves recognising these roots are shared by universities and the reciprocal need for maintenance, repair and regeneration. Universities are not just enablers of change, but also important targets of change. By focusing on the role of education about, for and through the SDGs, the authors seek to advance critical engagement with higher education that is both progressive and meaningful. We are all responsible for bearing witness to our age. This book will appeal to all those who hope that more sustainable future worlds are still possible.

Wendy Steele is Associate Professor in the Centre for Urban Research (CUR) at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on the nature of wild cities in climate change with current projects on quiet activism, critical urban governance, climate justice and urban futures, and sustainability as a transformative agenda in higher education.
Lauren Rickards is Professor at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, where she directs the Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform and co-leads the Climate Change Transformations research program in the Centre for Urban Research. A human geographer, Lauren’s research focuses on social responses to the climate change crisis, including the role of climate change in sustainable development, and implications for the research and education sectors.