The second edition of Reinventing Cities, a global architecture and urban design competition, is open for entries.

Organised by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group with support from Climate KIC, the Reinventing Cities challenge seeks to transform 25 underutilised urban sites in nine cities across the world, keeping in mind the urgent need to address the current climate crisis by changing how cities are designed and built.

Existing buildings in C40 cities account for more than 50 percent of total emissions, making it imperative for new buildings to target zero carbon goals.

Launched in 2017, the Reinventing Cities competition harnesses the creativity of designers, architects and innovators to foster and scale low-carbon solutions that will help move cities toward net zero emissions goals.

Nine cities – Cape Town, Chicago, Dubai, Madrid, Milan, Montreal, Singapore, Reykjavik and Rome – have identified 25 sites including new developments, abandoned buildings, industrial sites, railway yards, a harbour and a former fire station.

The competition requires multi-disciplinary teams of architects, planners, developers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, start-ups, neighbourhood collectives, innovators and artists to team up and submit proposals that deliver carbon neutral and resilient urban regeneration.

Projects that deliver the most ambitious climate solutions alongside tangible benefits for the local community will be selected. These solutions will help create new models for sustainable urban development in cities around the world.

C40’s executive director Mark Watts says, “The Reinventing Cities competition has inspired exactly the inventive collaboration we need to combat the climate crisis – from the skills and creativity of architects, artists, environmentalists and entrepreneurs.

The creation of new and exciting developments in cities not only reduces carbon emissions from construction, but also builds the resilient urban environments we need to cope with rising temperatures and more extreme climate events. Reinventing Cities is more than an innovative competition – it is providing vital solutions to build the urban future we want.”

Winning projects of the first Reinventing Cities competition included the largest wooden building in Iceland, the largest urban solar farm in Texas, zero carbon neighbourhoods in Paris, Oslo and Auckland, a zero carbon co-living model for people with disabilities in San Francisco, and the first zero-carbon social housing project in Italy.

For more information on the Reinventing Cities competition including project sites, eligibility criteria, and submission deadline, please visit http://www.c40reinventingcities.org.

Image: Montreal / Unsplash.

Branko Miletic

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