Today (October 31), the second Global Sustainable City Award (Shanghai Award) went abroad for the first time and was awarded in Alexandria, Egypt, where the global home event of this year’s World Cities Day was held. Among the fierce competition among 15 shortlisted cities, 5 cit

Today (October 31), the second Global Sustainable City Award (Shanghai Award) went abroad for the first time and was awarded in Alexandria, Egypt, where the global home event of this year’s World Cities Day was held. Among the fierce competition among 15 shortlisted cities, 5 cities stood out and won the award, namely: Agadir, Morocco, Trivandrum, India, Doha, Qatar, Iztapalapa, Mexico, and Melbourne, Australia.

5 cities won the second Shanghai Award

Reporters learned from the Shanghai World Cities Day Affairs Coordination Center that the application for this award lasted nearly 4 months, and a total of application materials were received from 55 cities in 28 countries on all continents, covering It covers cities in developed countries, cities in developing countries and cities in least developed countries with different levels of development, income and population status.

It is almost impossible to mention these five cities on the same occasion. Why do they win awards at the same time?

must first clarify the concept of Shanghai Award. It is an international award jointly sponsored by the United Nations Human Settlements Program and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. The selection criteria used are "world languages" and are jointly selected by global experts. The second Shanghai Award continues the selection dimensions of the first one, which are economic vitality and urban prosperity, ecological construction and green development, urban safety and resilient development, and capacity building for sustainable development.

Shanghai Award Presentation Site

Shanghai Award is not a comprehensive award. Zhou Hanmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and President of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, said that the city that won the Shanghai Award must be an "individual champion". It has done particularly well in a certain aspect and is a benchmark that human society needs to work hard to benchmark.

This "single item" is not a high-level construction achievement, but a sustainable development. Since its establishment, the Shanghai Award has been to recognize cities that provide comprehensive solutions in sustainable development, thereby promoting the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). The common feature of the five award-winning cities is that they have significant increases in sustainable development.

Shanghai Award Presentation Site

This year is the second Shanghai Award, focusing on "happy and secure living, meeting diverse housing needs", "youth leadership, building dynamic communities", "innovative development, promoting urban prosperity", "low carbon resilience, improving urban climate adaptation" A city that has made significant progress in the direction of "capacity". Selection experts believe that the measures taken by each winning city are comprehensive and all-round, and all have replicable promotion experience -

Agadir, Morocco, located in Africa, saves energy, protects and utilizes water resources, and increases per capita green space. Area and other means have greatly improved the livability of the city, while promoting the development of digital twins and other smart city technologies and improving public service facilities.

Agadir, Morocco

Trivandrum, India, focuses on developing a knowledge-driven economy, providing a large number of job opportunities for young talents, greatly improving the efficiency of urban transportation, and providing safe housing that meets diverse needs. Various intelligent environmental information systems have been established around water resources, transportation, sanitation, information and other fields, focusing on the development of green energy.

Trivandrum, India

Doha, Qatar is committed to reducing its environmental impact, such as through green building practices and a state-of-the-art metro rail project; and focusing on respecting its rich cultural heritage. Economically, it is establishing itself as a financial, educational and diplomatic center, and continuously improving its health care, education and social service facilities to improve the quality of life of all residents.

Doha, Qatar

Melbourne, Australia is a city accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions from running the city by 76% since 2016; created an innovative and globally applicable model for sourcing renewable energy ; increased the city’s biodiversity and regenerated Central areas such as South Bank Avenue.Iztapalapa, Mexico, promotes tolerance and social harmony through social organizations and charity activities.

Melbourne, Australia

Iztapalapa, Mexico