The Bay Awards international prizes

More than 300 experts and institutional representatives from around the world, along with over 6,000 online participants from more than 200 countries, took part in the The Bay Awards Summit, during which the gala for the first edition of the awards was held.

In addition to awarding the “Urban Pioneers” prize to Curitiba (Brazil), the jury also recognized projects and initiatives developed in Bogotá, Detroit, South Africa, and Singapore in the corresponding categories of “SDG Champions,” “Partners in Progress,” “Prosperity Catalyst,” and “Horizon Shapers,” respectively.

https://youtu.be/QgxjGnE8mloThe Brazilian city of Curitiba was honored with the first The Bay Awards prize in the “Urban Pioneers” category, awarded by Bilbao Metropoli 30, a public-private association for the revitalization of the metropolitan area of Bilbao. The recognition was announced during a special gala held at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, as part of The Bay Urban Visioning Awards Summit, which was hosted in the capital of Bizkaia with the attendance of over 300 urban planning experts from around the world.

The jury, composed of five men and five women with renowned expertise in global urban planning, praised “Curitiba’s commitment to human-scale urban planning in situations of great difficulty, demonstrating that even the most complex transformations are possible.” This award, presented by Amaia Arregi as the highest representative of the Bilbao City Council, was received by Liana Vallicelli, Director of Internationalization for Curitiba. The international jury emphasized that the Brazilian city “has cemented itself as a legend of urban transformation.”

In this way, Curitiba inaugurates the list of cities that, due to their positive impact on human development and their ability to serve as a model for other cities, will be recognized every three years from Bilbao as success stories in the path towards an urban revolution. Additionally, the jury decided to grant a special mention to the Scottish city of Glasgow for its transformation from a post-industrial city to a leading knowledge-based economy.

Bilbao Metropoli 30 highlighted the spirit of The Bay Awards as a platform to showcase and celebrate good urban practices worldwide, which can serve as inspiration, as was evident at the gala when the Guggenheim Museum auditorium applauded all the initiatives from this first edition. Additionally, the more than 100 projects submitted to this year’s edition will be part of a repository to be published by the public-private association.

Another key aspect of this project is the public-private support it has garnered among Bilbao Metropoli 30’s partners, as well as from other entities such as the UN Local2030 Coalition Secretariat and representatives from Singapore, who also took part in this event—a symbolic moment given that Bilbao was the first city to be awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Prize in 2010.

In addition to the “Urban Pioneers” award, supported by the Bilbao City Council, the gala also revealed the winners in the other four categories included in this first edition of The Bay Awards. In the “Prosperity Catalyst” category, supported by the Regional Government of Bizkaia, the award went to the Social Employment for the Common Good project from South Africa, which promotes employability for job seekers through social projects such as urban gardens, security patrols, public art, and river restoration. The jury particularly valued “its ability to generate wealth in the communities where it operates and for demonstrating that creating prosperity can also serve the common good.” The award was presented by Elixabete Etxanobe, Deputy General of Bizkaia.

In the “SDG Champion” category, led by the Basque Government, the “Care Blocks” project from Bogotá (Colombia) was awarded “for highlighting and recognizing the impact and importance of care work by making it visible, measuring it, and redistributing it fairly and collaboratively, developing a solution that also addresses many other urban inequalities”. The award was presented by Asier Aranbarri, Director of Social Innovation for the Basque Government.

The winning initiative in the “Horizon Shaper” category, supported by the BBK Foundation, went to Singapore’s dementia-friendly neighborhoods project, an initiative with significant potential in places like the Basque Country due to the growing and sustained increase in this issue, resulting from an aging population. Thanks to this initiative, many people can age in their homes, delaying the need for institutional care. In the jury’s opinion, this project helps “tackle a long-term challenge that is becoming increasingly urgent in our societies”. The award was presented by Nora Sarasola, Director of Social Work for the BBK Foundation.

Finally, in the “Partners in Progress” category, with the collaboration of the Bilbao Port Authority and Petronor, the Cultural District of Detroit (USA) was recognized, which brings together cultural institutions and agents with architecture and engineering professionals in an association that combines urban planning with cultural management in a 33-hectare area in the city center. Thanks to this project, 40% of the areas previously designated for automobiles are expected to be converted into spaces for people. Specifically, the jury valued “this project’s ability to generate high-impact collaboration mechanisms that have also been able to challenge car culture, heralding a new era of more human, local, and sustainable mobility.” The award was presented by José Ignacio Zudaire, Assistant to the CEO of Petronor, and Itziar Sabas, Director of HR and Communication at the Bilbao Port Authority.

A Leading International Congress

The “The Bay Awards” gala was the culmination of the first day of the “The Bay Awards Summit” congress. The event gathered more than 300 institutional representatives and renowned figures from urban planning and strategic planning worldwide and was followed live via streaming by over 6,000 people from more than 200 countries. The congress opened with keynote addresses by international speakers, interspersed with debate sessions on the three finalist projects in the five categories of The Bay Awards, moderated by the jury members who evaluated them.

That same day also featured a debate session with strategic planning entities from cities that have been awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Prize of Singapore, moderated by Michael Koh, Executive Fellow of the Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore. Cities in this network include Bilbao—the first city to receive the prize in 2010—New York, Suzhou, Medellín, Seoul, Vienna, and Mexico City. This collaboration among award-winning cities has resulted in a network of entities working on the long-term strategy for their cities. The previous day Bilbao Metropoli 30 organised a Learning Journey for international attendees who visited several of the most strategic projects of our metropolis.

The outcome of this first edition of “The Bay Awards Summit,” which is also part of the global celebration of “Urban October”, will be reflected in a repository compiled by Bilbao Metropoli 30 to contribute to consolidating an international platform of urban experiences and reinforcing the shared learning process.

More information: www.thebayawards.com

https://youtu.be/M3V14TnmLt8