Do you have an idea how to improve the quality of people’s lives in future cities? This $1M award aims to recognise the best practices from reducing pollution and sustaining urban food systems to smart buildings and affordable housing.
We will experience rapid urban growth in the coming decades. If the UN projection becomes a reality, we will have 7 billion urban inhabitants in 40-50 years.
The majority of urban expansion takes place in the developing world, which means that the improvement of living conditions calls for the societies’ ability to adapt to the urban era. Cities need to ensure that they can provide affordable housing, access to food and water, as well as mobility for a continuously growing urban population. The urban infrastructure also plays a significant role in defining how people can lead climate-friendly lifestyles in the future.
Being able to continuously develop the cities throughout the following decades is critical in tackling the most pressing challenges and meeting the targets of the Agenda 2030.
The Award Is Open to All Sectors
Dubai International Award For Best Practises, now reaching its 25th year, recognises practices that demonstrate valuable contributions to sustainable urban development. It also aims to create a global knowledge sharing platform for best practices in human settlements.
Urban infrastructure plays a significant role in defining how people can lead climate-friendly lifestyles in the future.
The award is purely global, open to all nationalities and all sectors, including national and regional governments, NGOs, multilateral agencies, community-based organisations, research and academic institutions, public and private foundations, media entities, and individuals.
It is organised in partnership with UN-HABITAT and Dubai Municipality. Demos Helsinki has been in an advisory role in defining the five award categories.
Category Listing – What’s Your Solution?
1. Urban Regeneration and Public Spaces. This category caters for addressing the cities of the future: finding ways with which cities ensure to provide affordable housing and access to food, water, clean air, mobility, public life, and nature for the continuously more numerous urban populations.
2. Construction of Sustainable, Innovative and Smart Buildings. This category caters for finding sustainable, innovative, and smart projects for the development of smart buildings to limit environmental impact, increase human well-being, and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals.
3. Sustaining Urban Food Systems. This category caters for systemic change and much improved access to food by all people while maintaining a strong connection between food production as well as storage and supply to local, regional and global beneficiaries that show an impact on human settlements.
4. Addressing Climate Change and Reducing Pollution. This category caters for solutions addressing climate change, pollution reduction, and the protection of a thriving biodiversity including long-term governance mechanics, stakeholder participation, and circular economy.
5. Urban Infrastructure Planning and Management. This category caters for finding adaptable, local, and resilient solutions that will enable a longer life cycle for infrastructure.
Apply by 30th April 2020
Download the full award handbook and see the important dates in the Award webpage. The submission is open until 30th April 2020. One million dollars in prizes will be awarded in November 2020 during Expo 2020 Dubai.