Deadline: 30-Sep-2025
Entries are now open for the Asian Development Bank’s City Builders Challenge: Reimagining Urban Futures. This challenge invites participants to address real urban issues such as flooding, traffic congestion, and inequality by using interactive digital tools to model city segments. The goal is to transform urban problems into bold, visual solutions that can help shape the sustainable, livable cities of tomorrow. As cities in Asia and the Pacific continue to grow rapidly, many challenges remain hidden or feel too complex to solve. By visualizing these problems, participants can break them down into clear, shareable models that generate awareness and spark fresh ideas.
The challenge is designed to empower individuals from all backgrounds to explore solutions and contribute to building more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities. Participants can shape their models around themes such as mobility and transport, green spaces, waste and water management, inclusion and accessibility, and technology and innovation. These themes aim to address the most pressing urban challenges, like improving transportation systems, managing waste and water efficiently, and ensuring that cities are accessible for everyone.
The challenge offers several benefits to participants. It provides hands-on learning about real urban challenges, framed within the context of a chosen city and theme. It’s also an excellent opportunity to strengthen your portfolio, demonstrate creative thinking, and problem-solving skills. Top entries may earn recognition across ADB platforms and events and have the chance to influence future policies or collaborations. Additionally, participants will be able to network with urban experts, planners, and ADB partners.
Participants can select a city to reimagine from the following options: Manila, Shanghai, Jakarta, New Delhi, Karachi, or Suva. The design should address specific challenges faced by the chosen city today. Participants will then share their ideas using a city-building platform to create a model, which they will submit as either a 2-minute portrait video or a 2-page write-up.
The challenge is open to the general public, but finalists must come from ADB member countries. Eligible participants include individuals or teams from startups, universities, research organizations, and corporate partners. Submissions will be evaluated based on creativity, relevance to the theme, technical excellence, clarity, communication, and feasibility.
To apply, participants must submit a visual representation of their proposed solution in video or article format, along with a short write-up explaining their design and the expected outcome. While submitting the digital model file is not required, participants must keep it available in case it’s requested. Each participant can only submit one entry.
For more information, visit Asian Development Bank.