Cities CHALLENGE
What is the CitiesCHALLENGE about?
The CitiesCHALLENGE ideas competition invites urban projects in partner countries of German development cooperation to propose ideas for sustainable urban development under a specific theme.
The motto of the first round, which took place in 2019 was CitiesCHALLENGE: 2030 Agenda meets Urban Climate Action, whereas the second edition set the focus on Building Vibrant and Resilient Neighbourhoods. In both editions, four so-called Urban Living Labs were chosen and equipped each with a budget of originally 100,000 Euros.
The CitiesCHALLENGE proves the importance of integrated approaches for sustainable urban development and shows the potential of innovative modalities and co-creation for the implementation of global agendas. In addition, the CitiesCHALLENGE demonstrates the importance of dialogue between the global and regional technical cooperation areas for innovative, needs-based and even more effective policy development.
What are the key objectives of the CitiesCHALLENGE?
MAINSTREAMING
To effectively disseminate guiding principles from BMZ on sustainable urban development and make them visible in concrete terms.
REALITY CHECK
To match approaches from policy advice with partner needs and priorities on the ground.
EXPERIMENTATION
To test tools and methodological approaches for implementation and put the experiential knowledge of bilateral projects and partners to good use.
PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT
To further develop technical and methodological approaches for needs-based, implementable, and transformative technical cooperation.
CitiesCHALLENGE 2.0
Speaking from a local perspective
Beatriz González
Resident of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, volunteered in the transformation of Hundido Park
“I come to this park very often and that’s why I want to make sure it looks beautiful and pleasant.”
Find out more about Beatriz Gonzáles’ story and the Urban Living Lab in Mexico:
Chantel Asanda Cwaile
From Galeshewe, Kimberley, South Africa, participated in a clay brick fabrication workshop
“This project reminds me of where I come from. Now I have learnt to make these clay bricks by myself.”
Find out more about Chantel Asanda Cwaile’s story and the Urban Living Lab in South Africa:
Suma Begum
Resident of the informal settlement of Gorer Kanda in Satkhira, Bangladesh
“I hope that through this project my family can recover from the bad shortage situation and I dream of building a nice house.”
Find out more about Suma Begum’s story and the Urban Living Lab in Bangladesh:
Summathi Kanagi
A teacher at ICDS centres 15 and 16 in the Kannagi Nagar district of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
“The mothers generally leave the kids here and go immediately. But now they are staying back for some more time as it is cooler and comfortable inside..”
Find out more about Summathi Kannag’s story and the Urban Living Lab in India:
CitiesCHALLENGE 1.0
CitiesCHALLENGE: 2030 Agenda meets Urban Climate Action
How small-scale projects at local level can contribute to big-scale goals at global level
The vision of the CitiesCHALLENGE 2030 was to invite urban projects in partner countries of German development cooperation to propose ideas for implementing the SDGs and climate protection in cities together with local partners. Through concrete entry points, such as urban infrastructure, public spaces, housing, food security or nature-based solutions, different stakeholders could be addressed.
The importance of climate action, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, and the interconnectedness of climate change with the SDGs in an urban context were key issues for the CitiesChallenge 2030. In the climate community, development goals are often considered as a co-benefit – with this ideas competition, GIZ and BMZ aimed to showcase that they can go hand in hand.
Interconnected nature of the 17 SDGs
Interconnected nature of the 17 SDGs in the 2030 Agenda, particularly in cities, where productive synergies between correlated goals are easier to activate
Integrated urban development
Integrated urban development predicts greater impact as relevant actors from sectors such as mobility, waste and energy work closely together to find sustainable, effective and climate-friendly solutions.
Leave No One Behind
This ‘central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs’ is a fundamental commitment to the global community, making the development goals socially just and inclusive.
Multi-actor partnerships
Multi-actor partnerships invite a wide range of actors to work together towards achieving the SDGs bringing together multiple wisdom, capacities and resources
CitiesCHALLENGE 1.0
Speaking from a local perspective
Zoila Moro
One of the “Guardians of the Hills” in Portoviejo, Ecuador
“What mobilises people is social action.”
Zoila Moro, Member of the Parish Committee of San Pablo in the Portoviejo Municipality, Ecuador.
Find out more about Zoila Moro’s story and the Urban Living Lab in Ecuador:
Muhammad Al-Hourani
A beneficiary of the Urban Micro Lung in Amman, Jordan
“This forest will be the first thing I look at every day, giving me the hope that the future will be better and green.”
Muhammad Al-Hourani, Owner of a household goods store in Jabal Al-Manara.
Find out more about Muhammad Al-Hourani’s story and the Urban Living Lab in Jordan:
Johanna Sheehama
Resident of Onyika No. 2, informal settlement in Windhoek
“One day Onyika will look like a real town.”
Johanna Sheehama, Principal of a Pre-Primary & Day Care Centre in Onyika, Namibia.
Find out more about Johanna Sheehama’s story and the Urban Living Lab in Namibia:
Marija Jovanović and Ljubica Kovačević
Residents of Belgrade’s Savski venac
“People will throw away lots of things, many of which can be used for me and my family.”
Ljubica Kovačević, member of the Roma community in Belgrade, Serbia.
Find out more about Ljubica Kovačević’s story and the Urban Living Lab in Serbia:
Resource hub
Cities CHALLENGE Factsheets
Check out Cities CHALLENGE material in our CityTransitions Ressource Hub.
Factsheet Cities CHALLENGE Ecuador
Factsheet Cities CHALLENGE Jordan
