Reinventing Cities, C40’s global competition to transform underutilized urban sites into innovative, zero-carbon and resilient urban projects, launched its fourth edition today. The new edition invites creative
professionals worldwide—including architects, planners, developers, investors, environmentalists and start-ups—to design and develop urban projects of the future.
This year, 15 world-leading cities are calling on the private sector to collaborate, driving wider change in how cities are designed and built. Participating cities include: Almere, Bilbao, Bologna, Brussels, Glasgow, Milan, New York, Palermo, Renca, Rome, San Antonio, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seattle and Venice.
Sites to be transformed include creating a mixed-use, resilient and inclusive development surrounding the canal in Glasgow; supporting the 15-minute city vision in Rome; creating a more vibrant waterfront in Seattle; repurposing downtown office buildings into housing in San Francisco; designing green and thriving public spaces in São Paulo and more.
Winning projects stemming from the competition are highly ambitious regarding environmental and social benefits and go beyond business as usual. To date, Reinventing Cities has engaged over 3,500 businesses worldwide with 40 projects under development globally, demonstrating how urban climate leadership and collaboration with the private sector can enable zero-carbon development to serve the needs of local communities. Through this new edition, Reinventing Cities aims to grow momentum and engage even more actors in rethinking cities globally.
Deputy Mayor of Seattle Adiam Emery said: “Seattle is thrilled to partner with Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to create an exemplary redevelopment of the Washington and Oregon Shippers Cooperative Association (WOSCA) site. This site presents unique opportunities because of its connections to the maritime sector, our new world-class waterfront open spaces, and the stadium district where we will host 2026 FIFA World Cup games. Redevelopment of this site can play an important role in the reactivation of downtown, which is a high priority for Mayor Bruce Harrell.”
Redevelopment of the WOSCA site aligns with Mayor Harrell’s priorities to revitalize Downtown Seattle. To learn more about the Mayor’s Downtown Action Plan, visit www.downtownisyou.com.
Secretary of Transportation, Washington State Department of Transportation Roger Millar said: “C40 offers an incredible opportunity to bring together innovative and creative minds from around the world to leverage and re-imagine dormant property in the heart of Seattle. It’s fitting that a parcel of WSDOT owned land will now be part of a global collaborative process to re-imagine this space for multiple uses. WSDOT looks forward to working with all of the partners and neighbors we serve in the Seattle area to best leverage this opportunity for an outcome that best serves us all.”
This C40 initiative is made possible thanks to the support of Ingka Group.
About C40 Cities
C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone, everywhere, can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. We work alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labor, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to support mayors to halve emissions by 2030 and help phase out fossil use while increasing urban climate resilience and equity.
The current co-chairs of C40 are Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, United Kingdom, and Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone; three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our three strategic funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Realdania.
To learn more about the work of C40 and their cities, please visit their website or follow them on X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Read the full press release from C40 to hear from other Mayors and business leaders taking part in the program.