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15 Minute City

Urban Design Competition 2023

Submissions closed – Stay tuned for results!

Premise

Welcome to the 3rd Edition of the 15 Minute City Urban Design Competition!

Long commutes, traffic congestion, and polluted air have been a scourge on urban life for far too long. But what if we could make urban living less stressful and more sustainable? That’s the idea behind the 15 Minute City – a city where all essential destinations, such as schools, shops, offices, entertainment venues, and healthcare facilities, can be reached within a 15-minute walk, cycle, or public transit ride.

Affordable, accessible, and adaptable housing, fresh groceries, and other amenities are also key features of a 15 Minute City. Working from home or close to home can also help to reclaim our time, health, and well-being while fostering more inclusive communities. Several major cities, such as Paris, Melbourne, Detroit, Portland, and Ottawa, are already embracing similar concepts.

This year’s competition encourages designers and planners to re-imagine urban landscapes as cleaner, safer, healthier, and more inclusive places to live. So, let’s get creative and make our cities more livable!

Design Synopsis

Where everything is 15 minutes away – by foot, bicycle or public transit.

The 15 Minute City is all about improving people’s quality of life by creating urban areas where everything a resident needs is just 15 minutes away on foot, bike, or public transit. To achieve this, we need careful planning at the neighborhood level, giving each district the features it needs to support a full life. This includes creating jobs, food, recreation, green space, housing, healthcare facilities, small businesses, and more.

As a participant in this competition, you are required to design a module for a 15 Minute City that can be replicated to create a larger city. You can choose to design a fictional city or re-design a small part of an existing city anywhere in the world. Your design should be replicable and scalable, with a focus on creating neighborhoods that are sustainable, accessible, and inclusive.

Remember, as a city planner or designer, you are also free to recommend rules and policies that can help make the lives of your city’s occupants better. So, get creative, think outside the box, and help us create the future of urban living!

Awards

3
Winners
10
Honorable
Mentions
30
Shortlisted
Entries

Exposure and recognition is the key to success for any designer. The 15 Minute City urban design competition provides professionals and students, the opportunity to showcase their work on a global stage. The best entries shall be featured on theCharette.org, and on our social media platforms. The results will also be published by various websites and online magazines associated with us.

Trophies

Custom Designed Trophies will be awarded & shipped to the Top 3 Winners.

Certificates

Shareable and verifiable e-certificates of achievement will be awarded to the Winners, Honorable Mentions & Top 30.

Exclusive Interview

The Top 3 Winners will get an exclusive interview in both – written and video formats. Photos, interviews, and more information about the winners will be published on our website.

Publications

The winning entries shall be published on Charette’s website & social media platforms and other international architecture websites partnered with us.

Submission

A total of 4 sheets of size 30cm x 30cm (11.8″ x 11.8″) are to be submitted as a combined PDF document.

Email your submissions to: [email protected].

  • File Naming: ’15MC-Registration ID.pdf’
    For example, if your Registration ID is 12345, the file name should be 15MC-12345.pdf.
  • Registration ID:
    To receive your Registration ID, please complete the registration process on our website. Once you have your Registration ID, include it in your file name and in the subject line of your email. You don’t need to write it on your design sheets.
  • File Size Limit: 5 MB
    The maximum file size for your submission is 5 MB. If your submission exceeds this limit, please compress your file before emailing.
  • Submissions should be emailed as a file attachment and not as a link.

We encourage you to represent your designs with full-page impactful graphics and minimal text where necessary. Please make sure to size all text and graphics according to the sheet size. We want your design to grab eyeballs! So pick what you want to show on your presentation boards wisely. Choose quality over quantity. And remember, “Less is more.”

Good luck and have fun designing!

Eligibility & Rules

15 Minute City is open to all creative people – architects, engineers, designers, and all problem solvers! Participation is encouraged from professionals and students alike. Design proposals can be developed individually or in teams of maximum 4 participants from similar or interdisciplinary backgrounds.

  • Participants who plagiarize or submit work that is not entirely their own will be disqualified at any point during or after the competition.
  • Submissions shouldn’t contain any information which discloses your identity, except the Registration ID.
  • All text must be in English.

Jury & Evaluation

Evaluation Criteria:
The jury will evaluate the designs on the following criteria:

  • Design – 25%
  • Innovation/Originality – 25%
  • Practicality – 25%
  • Presentation – 25%

Inspiration

MIKAEL COLVILLE – ANDERESEN: Bicycle Culture by Design
TED Talk

MIKAEL COLVILLE – ANDERESEN: 15 Minute Cities
Life-Sized City

DR. ASHISH VERMA: How to Fix Traffic
DW Documentary

JEFF SPECK: 4 ways to make a city more walkable
TED Talk

Key Dates

Closing date for registration

15 July 2023

Closing date for submission

31 July 2023

Announcement of the winners

10 September 2023

All deadlines are 11:59 PM UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).

Registration

$35 Advance Entry

15 Mar – 15 Apr 2023

$45 Early Entry

16 Apr – 15 May 2023

$55 Standard Entry

16 May – 15 Jun 2023

$65 Last-min Entry

16 Jun – 15 Jul 2023

After completing the checkout, you will automatically receive a confirmation e-mail. In the e-mail, you will also find your Registration ID. Please note, your Registration ID is your order number. If you can’t find the e-mail in your inbox, please check your spam folder. Even after the registration, you are welcome to add, remove, or swap team members as long as their total number does not exceed four. For any queries, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Payments are handled by PayPal and Stripe’s Secure Payment Gateways. You can pay through a Credit Card / Debit Card or your PayPal balance. We accept all major currencies.

All deadlines are 11:59 PM UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).
All prices are in US Dollars unless stated otherwise.

FAQ

We recommend picking a size that helps you depict your concepts and idea well for a “15-minute city”. Remember, you don’t need to design an entire city – just a module that can be replicated to create a larger city.

You are free to depict either – new designs, as well as re-design of existing cities.

Your Registration ID is the order number that appears after completing the registration process. It can also be found in the confirmation e-mail that you’ll receive upon successful registration. The confirmation is only sent to the email provided during the checkout.

Submissions will be judged digitally on a computer screen. The jury is going to consider the following criteria – innovation, practicality, aesthetics, impact and presentation.

Unfortunately due to the high volume of entries, theCharette cannot offer individual comments to its entrants.

Yes, to update your entry, you can re-submit before the deadline.

This contest is open to all.

No refunds shall be issued once the registration is completed.

You’ll receive a confirmation email acknowledging receipt of your entry. If you do not receive an email confirmation within 24hrs, please email [email protected].

Don't see the answer to your question?

E-mail us at [email protected].

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