The International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) recognized representatives of four exceptional projects in Durban, South Africa

Durban, 15 September 2016

On 15 September 2016 the ISOCARP Awards for Excellence were granted for the 10th  time. The awards were conferred during the 52nd ISOCARP Congress taking place in Durban, South Africa, with the theme “Cities we Have vs Cities we Need”. The theme is a catalyst to foster trans-disciplinary ways to interpret the past and conceive the future of cities. This requires a reflection on current innovative practices of planning and the different ways of generating the desirable cities of the future.
The awards were initiated by former ISOCARP President Alfonso Vegara in the spirit to acknowledge the importance of cities nowadays and how critical is their planning towards the future.

After careful evaluation by an international expert jury, the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) decided to award the following organizations for their special development plans:

Grand Prize Winners:
– Canal Plan, Brussels, by Brussels Planning Agency (BBP‐BPB), click here.
– ZIBI, by Windmill, Dream, FOTENN Planning + Design and PERKINS+WILL, Ottawa, Canada, click here.
See also http://www.zibi.ca/.

Merit Prize Winners:
– Zhongshan Avenue District Renewal Planning, Wuhan, China, by Land Use and Urban Spatial Planning Research Center Wuhan, click here.
– A new strategy and approach to planning and building urban housing, by City of Wroclaw, Poland, click here.

Representatives of three projects came to Durban to present their project to the congress audience, one presentation was shown as a video.

The awards were given with the following reasons:

Canal Plan Brussels, Belgium:
“The submission is an ambitious and innovative multi-disciplinary planning tool, developed to achieve the urban (re)development of the central districts while tackling the main socio-economic and environmental challenges.”

ZIBI, Ottawa, Canada:

“ZIBI is intended to be a sustainable community that transforms a brownfield site to a healthy and vibrant waterfront.  The multi-phase development will transform the derelict industrial site to housing, commercial, office, waterfront plazas, recreational, and cultural facilities.”

Zhongshan Avenue District Renewal Planning, Wuhan, China:

“This project is honored for its inclusionary public participation and focus on the street as the umbilical cord within the network of the public realm, striving to improve public transport, protect the history and culture of place, and encourage community involvement.”

A new strategy and approach to planning and building urban housing, City of Wroclaw, Poland:

“The project is recognized for its unique collaborative approach to bring together a diverse group of architects collaborating to resolve the most pressing urban need, that of attainable housing for urban dwellers”.