The world's cities are engines for innovation, growth and economic activity, but they are also a key contributor to climate change.

While cities only cover 2 per cent of the world's surface and are home to slightly over half of the world's population, they consume a disproportionate 78 per cent of the world's energy, and produce over 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

By 2050, urban populations are projected to increase to 68 per cent - up from 55 per cent today - with close to 90 per cent of this increase happening in Asia and Africa. Clearly, cities have a major role to play in addressing climate change for the world to have a chance of limiting global warming to within 1.5oC.

How can we reduce carbon emissions from electricity consumption, transportation, buildings and industrial activities in cities, without compromising on continued population and economic growth in our cities? What role does nature and biodiversity play in this balance?

Presented by Temasek's Ecosperity platform, the Sustain-a-City: An Urban Innovation Challenge invites students to put their imagination and creativity to the test!

The Brief

Calling all students! We invite you to reimagine what a sustainable, net-zero city could look like, and to share your innovative solutions around the following key themes:

Submissions

This is a virtual competition. You will need to submit your proposed solution(s) with the following deliverables:

1. A video of 3 minutes (or shorter), pitching your innovative solution
2. A supporting essay in 500 words (or less) describing the solution's key features and design attributes, how it contributes to decarbonisation efforts, and how the solution interplays with other systems within the city to generate positive multiplier effects or tradeoffs

Eligibility

The competition is open to all registered students between the ages 18 and 25 as of registration date. This includes, but is not limited to, students in high school, junior college, polytechnic, design school and universities. 

This is a team challenge. Teams comprising 2 or 3 members should be formed prior to registration and the team leader can register for the competition by filling out the online registration form linked below.

Competition Phases

The competition is open to all registered students between the ages 18 and 25 as of registration date. This includes, but is not limited to, students in high school, junior college, polytechnic, design school and universities. 

The campaign includes 3 virtual workshops in April which all participating teams must attend to qualify for judging. Get the full download on the competition and hear from industry experts at these virtual workshops. Participants will also receive one-on-one mentoring with coaches from Arkki Singapore.

The 6 shortlisted finalist teams must attend and present their solutions at the virtual final pitch session in May.