The ISOCARP Award for Excellence (AfE) rewards plans in the design phase as well as projects in progress or already implemented and is open to a wide range of professionals and institutions operating in the domain of urban and regional planning. Participants are invited to submit different tools used in planners’ daily practice: normative plans, strategic plans, urban projects, programmes, policies, research works, software, smart tools facilitating planners, etc. This prestigious award is bestowed in two categories: Grand Award and Merit Award.
In 2021, a record number of 22 eligible entries were submitted:
- Growing Resilience: a comprehensive design framework for decision-making, by ARUP International Consultants (Shanghai), Co. Ltd., China;
- Mobility Development Strategy for the North Hanoi Smart City, by Oriental Consultants Global Co. Ltd., Japan;
- The Post-Pandemic Revitalization Plan of Wuhan, by Wuhan Planning and Design Institute, China;
- General Planning and Design Control of Sanlin Waterfront, Shanghai, by ECADI, China;
- Nur-Sultan 2030, by Space Syntax, UK;
- Planning and Practice of “Internet +” Continuous Revitalization of the Decaying Villages in Northeast Guangzhou, by Guangzhou Urban Renewal Planning Institute, China;
- Wuhan Quantitative Analysis Platform for Planning, by Wuhan Planning and Design Institute, China;
- Guideline for Regeneration of the Old Communities in Jiangsu, by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Jiangsu Planning and Design Group Co.Ltd., China;
- China Grana Canal (Jiangsu Section) National Cultural Park Construction and Protection Plan, by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Jiangsu Planning and Design Group Co.Ltd, China;
- The Local Area Development Plan for Ezbet El Nasr, Cairo, by the Ministry of Housing Utilities and Urban Communities, Egypt;
- North Dalat District Master Plan, by enCity, Sinapore;
- Ben Tre Strategic Vision Plan, by enCity, Singapore;
- “Cities for All”: Jiangsu Provincial Habitat Coordinated Quality-Promotion Action Plan, by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development & Urbanization and Urban-Rural Planning Research Center of Jiangsu, China;
- ENOT – Sustainable Development Strategy of Mexico, by the Secretariat of Urban Development, Mexico;
- Participatory community planning through socio-spatial co-production: “New Qinghe Experiment” in Beijing, China, by the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University and Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning & Design Institute Co. Ltd., China;
- Urban Design and General Control for the Northern Part of Yancheng, China, by ECADI, China; Dubai Traditional Markets Project, by the Dubai Municipality, UAE;
- Dubai Traditional Markets Project, by the Dubai Municipality, UAE;
- Dubai Urban Plan 2040, by the Dubai Municipality, UAE;
- Emancipatory Urbanization, by Dan Narita, Hong Kong;
- Community Governance and Urban Renewal of Historical District through Multi-actor Collaboration: A Case Study of Wuhan Tanhualin Historic and Cultural District, by Wuhan Land Use and Urban Spatial Planning Research Center, China;
- Dongguan Great Bay seashore landscape corridor area urban design, by IFADUR, France;
- The Plan of Coastal Landscapes in Jiangsu Province, by Jiangsu Planning and Design Group Co. Ltd., China.
The evaluation process was demanding due to the quality of entries and the diversity in terms of challenges and issues faced, themes and visions, environmental issues, and finally scale (from regional, metropolitan, to urban level). The jury composed of four experienced professional planners – Serin Geambazu (Romania), Tamara Maricic (Serbia), Charles-Edouard Delpierre (Belgium), and Kate Holmquist (USA) as the jury president – bestowed two awards in the category Grand Award Winner, as well as three awards in the category Merit Award Winner.
We are thankful to all the submitters who clearly demonstrated how diverse, meaningful, challenging, and interesting the planning profession is, and how much our work can contribute for a better world. Therefore, we invite and hope for many more entries in the coming years. It is not a matter of scale, but of quality and eye-opening projects, which can serve as outstanding examples of contemporary planning practice.
2021 Grand Award for Excellence Winners
Guideline for Regeneration of the Old Communities in Jiangsu, by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Jiangsu Planning and Design Group Co.Ltd.
The Guideline for Regeneration of the Old Communities in Jiangsu presents a progressive alternative to top-down renewal models that often “stop at demolition and reconstruction” and lead to displacement. Instead, these guidelines not only represent a framework for integrated renewal and regeneration to address spatial, social, and economic conditions in 170,000 old communities in Chinese cities and towns, but establishes a unique people-centred “co-creation” planning and governance model that incorporates active resident participation in all phases of planning, participatory design, construction and eventual self-governance. In Jiangsu Province, 6,274 old communities have already benefitted to date from these guidelines that balance the use of big data and strategic planning with community involvement, and present a replicable innovative approach for equitable urban regeneration.
Nur-Sultan 2030, by Space Syntax
The Nur-Sultan 2030 Master Plan takes a strategic, outcome-focused and evidence-based approach to planning for climate extremes in Kazakhstan, and is centred on densification and improvement over greenfield development. The multidisciplinary design team and stakeholder engagement processes identified regeneration opportunities that integrate systems across multiple scales and respond to community need. Leveraging smart planning methodologies like urban modelling and scenario testing, the Master Plan provides for long-term accountability and ensures that strategic renewal plans support the 2030 vision.
2021 Merit Award for Excellence Winners
Mobility Development Strategy for the North Hanoi Smart City, by Oriental Consultants Global Co. Ltd.
The Mobility Development Strategy for the North Hanoi Smart City boldly goes beyond multi-modal visions to present a model for zero-emission transportation and walkable urbanism. The project demonstrates the potential of smart technologies, presenting AI and smart systems as a means of reinventing the public realm at both the systems level and human scale, and subverting automobile dependence.
The Post-Pandemic Revitalization Plan of Wuhan, by Wuhan Planning and Design Institute
The Post-Pandemic Revitalization Plan of Wuhan rethinks community resilience, livability, economic vitality in the context of urban pandemics, and presents a holistic plan for establishing a smart city planned around health infrastructure. The plan showcases an innovative comprehensive planning approach incorporating impressive stakeholder engagement, to tackle a timely global issue.
Participatory community planning through socio-spatial co-production: “New Qinghe Experiment” in Beijing, China, by the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University and Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning & Design Institute Co. Ltd.
This multidisciplinary university student investigation explores grassroots community development, engagement, and participatory planning methodologies and studies the potential of an integrated spatial planning and community revitalization approach to address community sustainability and
livability: An innovative Socio-spatial Co-production mechanism.
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