Guangzhou double events to honor urban innovations

Five outstanding urban innovations across the globe will be honored on Friday at the Guangzhou International Urban Innovation Conference (GIUIC), marking the city’s recognition for sustainability amid rapid urbanization. The awards highlight Guangzhou’s dedication for sustainability through innovation

Each of the five winning cities, selected from 259 submissions from 177 cities in 57 countries and regions, of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) will receive a $20,000 cash prize at the biennial arrangement that was launched in 2012.

“The Guangzhou Award aims to recognize and promote innovation in urban sustainability and resilience for improving the livelihoods of people,” Mayor of Guangzhou Chen Jianhua said.

The GIUIC is running simultaneously with the 2014 China International Friendship Cities Conference (CIFCC), which is co-sponsored by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, China International Friendship Cities Association, and Guangzhou Municipal Government.

Under the theme of “My City, My Dream”, the conferences aim to encourage urban innovation and promote sustainable cooperation between sister cities.

The conferences are expected to attract approximately 600 participants, including mayors of more than 10 cities around the world, urban development experts and practitioners, and officials from international organizations.

The Guangzhou Award Technical Committee, comprising some 11 urban practitioners and scholars from various countries, has shortlisted 15 finalists from all submissions in September for an open vote online.

Each of the 15 finalist cities will present at the GIUIC their projects and lessons learned to a large audience which will include the Jury, formed by former elected city officials and other urban experts from international cities.

“We applied multiple filters — for example, not only the novelty and impact of an innovation, but also questions of social inclusion and whether it benefits all classes of society,” said Technical Committee members Neal Peirce and Farley Peters, and Nicholas You, a strategic adviser to the award.

The 15 finalists include Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Antioquia Province of Colombia, Boston in the US, Bristol in the UK, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Christchurch New Zealand, Dakar in Senegal, Eskisehir in Turkey, Gwangju of the ROK, Hamburg in Germany, Hangzhou in China, Jakarta in Indonesia, Linkoping in Sweden, Melbourne in Australia and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The double events also mark Guangzhou’s determination to be a smarter city during China’s rapid urbanization process.

Lying in the centre of the Pearl River Delta Region, Guangzhou, with a total population of 15 million, is the largest city in South China.

“Our hope is that cities from all over the world can share experiences and learn from each others’ innovative policies as well as practices to scale up their respective efforts,” Mayor Chen said.

zhanghaizhou@chinadaily.com.cn