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London – C40 Cities has launched a new global competition to inspire cities to turn underutilized sites into sustainable and resilient landmarks of the future.

C40’s architecture and design competition Reinventing Cities is now open for entries. The second edition of the competition aims to address the urgent need for change in how cities are designed and built in the face of the climate crisis, according to a C40 Cities press release.

Nine cities – Cape Town, Chicago, Dubai, Madrid, Milan, Montreal, Singapore, Reykjavik and Rome – have identified twenty five underutilized sites for the competition, including new developments, abandoned buildings, industrial sites, railway yards, a harbor and a former fire station.

Under the competition rules, multi-disciplinary teams of architects, planners, developers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, start-ups, neighborhood collectives, innovativors and artists have to team up and submit proposals for carbon-neutral and resilient urban landmarks.

The competition favors projects that offer the most ambitious climate solutions together with tangible benefits for the local community, demonstrating how cities and businesses can shape the future to deliver healthier, greener and economically viable urban development.

“Reinventing Cities is more than an innovative competition,” said C40’s executive director Mark Watts. “It is providing vital solutions to build the urban future we want.”  

The first Reinventing Cities competition was launched in 2017. Winning projects included the largest wooden building in Iceland, the largest urban solar farm in Texas, zero carbon neighborhoods 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.