Will Mamdani’s Victory Advance a Solidarity Economy in New York City? – Nonprofit Quarterly

Report on the Mayoral Election of Zohran Mamdani and its Implications for Sustainable Development in New York City

Executive Summary

The election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City represents a significant opportunity to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the municipal level. Powered by a large volunteer base and record voter turnout, the campaign’s platform and underlying philosophy of “radical municipalism” offer a framework for addressing urban challenges through systemic change. This report analyzes the alignment of the new administration’s proposed policies with key SDGs, focusing on the restructuring of governance, the development of a solidarity economy, and the establishment of global partnerships. The central thesis is that electoral victory must be leveraged to build permanent, democratic institutions to ensure lasting progress toward a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive city.

Alignment of Campaign Platform with Core Sustainable Development Goals

The Mamdani campaign’s platform was built on an economic populist message that directly corresponds with several key SDGs. The focus on material needs created a broad coalition, providing a strong mandate for policies aimed at reducing inequality and promoting sustainable urban living.

Key Policy Proposals and Corresponding SDGs:

• SDG 1 (No Poverty) & SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): A proposed rent freeze for stabilized apartments, universal childcare, and a $4 billion tax increase on high earners aim to alleviate poverty and redistribute wealth to fund essential public services.
• SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): The proposal for city-owned grocery stores is a direct strategy to combat food insecurity and ensure access to affordable, nutritious food for all communities.
• SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): The commitment to fare-free buses promotes sustainable and accessible public transportation, a critical component of an inclusive and environmentally sound city.

Institutional Transformation for SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

A core tenet of the municipalist agenda is that achieving sustainable development requires more than progressive policies; it demands a fundamental restructuring of governance to create more inclusive, participatory, and accountable institutions, directly addressing the targets of SDG 16.

Strategies for Building Democratic Power:

1. Establishment of People’s Assemblies: The report recommends transforming the city’s 59 advisory community boards into decision-making assemblies with binding authority. This devolution of power aligns with SDG 16’s goal of developing effective and transparent institutions at all levels.
2. Creating Permanent Democratic Infrastructure: Campaign organizing hubs should be converted into permanent spaces for direct democracy, ensuring that civic participation extends beyond the electoral cycle and becomes embedded in local governance.
3. Building Dual Power: These assemblies are envisioned not merely as advisory bodies but as institutions that can build popular power, sustain direct action campaigns, and counter state-level opposition or capital disinvestment, thereby strengthening civic resilience.

Constructing a Solidarity Economy for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

The administration’s vision extends beyond municipal services to the creation of a solidarity economy, an alternative economic model based on cooperation and community self-determination. This approach provides a practical framework for achieving SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Pillars of the Proposed Solidarity Economy:

• Worker Cooperatives (SDG 8): The administration is urged to expand the city’s 76 existing worker cooperatives by providing preferential city contracts, technical assistance, and financing. This promotes democratic workplaces and decent work for all.
• Community Land Trusts (SDG 11): To ensure housing affordability in perpetuity, the strategy involves establishing neighborhood-based land trusts in every community board district, removing housing from the speculative market and creating inclusive, safe, and resilient communities.
• Public Banking: The creation of a city-owned public bank would finance projects aligned with the SDGs, such as co-op development and green infrastructure, ensuring that public funds are reinvested in the community rather than channeled through private financial institutions.

Advancing Gender Equality and Global Partnerships

The municipalist framework also incorporates critical social and international dimensions of sustainable development, aligning with SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Cross-Cutting Priorities:

• Feminization of Politics (SDG 5): This principle involves centering care work and adopting non-hierarchical, collaborative decision-making processes, thereby challenging patriarchal models of governance and promoting gender equality.
• Global Solidarity (SDG 17): The report emphasizes the need for the new administration to connect with a global network of “fearless cities” and movements, such as those in Barcelona and Jackson, MS. Sharing strategies and resources across borders is essential for tackling transnational challenges like climate change and economic inequality, thereby strengthening global partnerships for sustainable development.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Zohran Mamdani’s victory presents a historic opportunity to implement a comprehensive sustainable development agenda in New York City. However, success is contingent on translating campaign energy into durable institutions of popular power. The administration and its supporters must move beyond electoral politics to build the foundations of a truly democratic and sustainable city.

Next Steps for Implementation:

1. Institutionalize Participation: Prioritize the transformation of community boards into empowered assemblies with control over local budgets and land use.
2. Build the Solidarity Economy: Actively use city contracts, financing, and public land to scale up worker cooperatives and community land trusts.
3. Foster Global Networks: Establish formal ties with other municipalist movements to create a global front for advancing the SDGs at the local level.

The ultimate measure of this administration’s success will be its ability to democratize power itself, creating a resilient, equitable, and sustainable urban model that can outlast a single term in office and serve as a blueprint for cities worldwide.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 1: No Poverty – The article addresses poverty by focusing on Zohran Mamdani’s campaign platform, which centers on the cost of living, including issues like rent, groceries, and childcare costs that directly impact the financial stability of working-class communities and families.
• SDG 2: Zero Hunger – The proposal for “city-owned grocery stores” is a direct initiative aimed at ensuring access to affordable food, which connects to the goal of ending hunger and ensuring food security.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality – The article explicitly mentions the “feminization of politics,” which involves “supporting care work” and creating decision-making processes that “center care, relationship, and reproduction.” This aligns with the goal of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The focus on creating a “solidarity economy” through the promotion of “worker cooperatives” and providing them with preferential city contracts directly relates to promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The article highlights Mamdani’s proposal for a “$4 billion tax increase on individuals earning over $1 million annually” and raising the corporate tax rate to “explicitly redistribute wealth to fund collective provision.” This is a core strategy for reducing inequality within the city.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – This is a central theme. The article discusses making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable through policies like a “rent freeze,” establishing “community land trusts” for permanent housing affordability, and implementing “fare-free buses” to create accessible public transport.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – The article notes that “rising seas and climate disasters demand cooperative economic structures now” and mentions that a new public bank could fund “green infrastructure projects,” connecting the municipalist agenda to urgent climate action.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – The core concept of “radical municipalism” described in the article—transforming advisory community boards into “decision-making assemblies with binding authority” and creating “permanent spaces for direct democracy”—directly addresses the goal of building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – The article advocates for building a “global network of fearless cities” and connecting with allies like “Barcelona en Comu” and “Cooperation Jackson” to share strategies and build “transnational movements.” This embodies the spirit of global partnership for sustainable development.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services… The article addresses this through proposals for universal childcare, fare-free buses, and city-owned grocery stores, which are designed to provide access to essential services and reduce the cost of living.
2. Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises… This is reflected in the plan to “encourage the formation of new worker co-ops” through preferential city contracts, technical assistance, and financing from a public bank.
3. Target 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality. Mamdani’s proposed tax increase on high earners and corporations to fund public services is a direct application of this target, aiming to redistribute wealth.
4. Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services… The proposals for a “rent freeze for the two million New Yorkers living in stabilized apartments” and creating “community land trusts” to “permanently remove housing from speculative markets” directly align with this target.
5. Target 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all… The call for “fare-free buses” is a specific policy aimed at achieving this target.
6. Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. The article’s central argument for transforming “the city’s existing 59 community boards from advisory bodies into decision-making assemblies with binding authority” is a clear strategy to meet this target by devolving power to the neighborhood level.
7. Target 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships… The call for New York to connect with global allies and form a “global network of fearless cities” to share strategies on challenges like climate change and gentrification directly supports this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Indicator for Housing Affordability (Target 11.1): The article mentions the Cooper Square Community Land Trust protecting “400 units of affordable housing.” An implied indicator for future progress would be the number of affordable housing units protected in perpetuity through newly established community land trusts.
2. Indicator for Economic Growth and Decent Work (Target 8.3): The article states that New York City currently has “76 worker cooperatives.” A direct indicator to measure progress would be the increase in the number of worker cooperatives and the number of people employed by them, especially those receiving city contracts.
3. Indicator for Participatory Decision-Making (Target 16.7): The article proposes transforming 59 community boards. A key indicator would be the number of community boards granted binding authority over local budgets and land use decisions. Another would be the level of citizen participation in these new assemblies.
4. Indicator for Inequality Reduction (Target 10.4): The article proposes a “$4 billion tax increase” on top earners. An indicator of success would be the amount of revenue raised through progressive taxation and allocated to public services like childcare, transport, and housing.
5. Indicator for Global Partnerships (Target 17.16): The article suggests connecting with movements in Barcelona and Jackson, MS. A qualitative indicator would be the establishment of formal partnerships and joint initiatives with other “fearless cities” to address shared challenges.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators from the Article

Source: nonprofitquarterly.org