The 2023 Shanghai Urban Design Challenge (SUDC), a significant initiative in the collaboration between the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal Government, was officially initiated on the afternoon of August 4, marking the beginning of global sign-up.

This challenge has undergone comprehensive enhancements to include a broader range of project and award categories, with the aim to establish a prestigious national-level urban design platform and become an internationally influential event.

I. Comprehensive Enhancements with More Competitions

The 2023 SUDC mainly includes 3 competitions, namely the Shanghai International Urban Design Awards, the Typical City Block Urban Design Competition, and the Micro Space Urban Design Competition. The Shanghai International Urban Design Awards seek to solicit urban design projects initiated and implemented in both domestic and foreign cities with an emphasis on “practical interpretation”. The Typical City Block Urban Design Competition endeavors to discover exceptional urban designs for four typical types of city blocks in Shanghai: urban renewal, green ecology, rail transit stations, and rural revitalization, highlighting “innovative insight”. The Micro Space Urban Design Competition aims to promote the concept of “15-minute community life circle”. Centered on the theme of the “Six Arts Pavilion”, the competition collects remarkable designs in two categories: Universal Design for Six Arts Pavilion and Site-specific Design for Six Arts Pavilion, with a focus on igniting “sparks of thought”. This year’s challenge, comprising these 3 competitions, has a combined total of 56 awards distributed across 9 categories.

II. Shanghai International Urban Design Awards

The creation of the Shanghai International Urban Design Awards aims to gather urban design projects initiated and executed in cities around the world to foster a global platform for communication in the field of urban design. Entries must be projects that have been initiated and implemented in recent years (within the last 5 years) and demonstrate a certain degree of influence, representativeness, and innovativeness in the field of urban development. Participation is limited to institutions. The awards are divided into three categories:

Urban Area Design (with a suggested planning scope of 3–5 square kilometers) concentrates on urban key development areas or significant renewal areas.

City Block Urban Design (with a suggested planning scope of within 2 square kilometers) is required to incorporate the overall facility layout and detailed design guidance.

Specific (Nodal) Urban Design takes the urban key spatial system (waterfront areas, park greenery, streets and plazas, etc.) as its main focus.

For each category, there will be 1 “Outstanding Design Award for Best Contribution” (3 in total), 2 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Practice” (6 in total), and 3 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Exploration” (9 in total). The monetary reward for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Contribution” is RMB 150,000 yuan, for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Practice” is RMB 100,000 yuan, and for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Exploration” is RMB 50,000 yuan.

III. Typical City Block Urban Design Competition

Centered on small and medium-scale typical city blocks, the competition aims to discover exceptional urban designs for four typical types of city blocks in Shanghai: urban renewal, green ecology, rail transit stations, and rural revitalization.

1. Urban renewal: The area north of Hai’an Road on the Fuxing Island and the waterfront area along the Fuxing Island Canal in Yangpu District have been chosen as the base of this competition project. The total area is approximately 50 hectares. The base is located in the adjoining areas along the northern and central sections of the Yangpu Riverside, in the north of the Fuxing Island, and on the western side of the Fuxing Island Canal. The northern part of the Fuxing Island and the Fuxing Island Canal hold significant importance as an ecological space and a node of the natural and cultural landscape of Yangpu District. They serve as an ecological space that fosters the development of Shanghai’s urban and rural cultures, embodies the historical evolution of the urban and rural areas, holds close connections with historical and cultural heritage, and showcases various humanistic elements. Additionally, they share close ties with the scientific research zone on the western side of the canal. All these factors have combined to make these locations a strategic node with vital functions along the Yangpu Riverside. The objective is to design “a high-quality riverside space” with a focus on open space creation along the riverside, ecological space design, dynamic functional configuration, and landscape control. Through this design, the project aims to advance the creation of open spaces of the riverside area by fully exploring the riverside resources, protect and preserve the ecological system and cultural heritage on the island and riverside area, and improve regional services.

2. Green ecology: Zhangjiang Station within Zhangjiang Science City in Pudong New Area and the adjacent ecological space of the Outer Ring Green Belt have been chosen as the base of this competition project. The total area is approximately 100 hectares. The base is situated in the northeastern part of Kangqiao Town, in close proximity to Kangxin Highway, which forms part of the Outer Ring Green Belt. The base is planned to accommodate Zhangjiang Station, which will be a stop on the Airport Liaison Line (under construction) and Line 21 (under construction). Furthermore, the area falls within the scope of Zhangjiang Science City according to relevant planning. The objective is to design “an ecologically vibrant regional gateway” with a focus on functional development and planning, overall spatial design, ecological space design, and landscape control. Through this design, the project aims to thoroughly analyze the functional development planning for the area surrounding the rail transit station within the ecological zone, comprehensively study spatial form, and create distinctive and vibrant nodes along the Outer Ring Green Belt through detailed planning and design for the ecological landscapes and slow-traffic networks of the belt.

3. Rail transit stations: Dongjing Station, an interchange stop in Songjiang District on the rail transit Line 9 and the planned Line 12 West Extension, and its surrounding area have been chosen as the base of this competition project. The total area is approximately 133 hectares. The base is located at the western end of Dongjing Town, close to the scenic Sheshan National Tourist Resort. Dongjing Station, a stop on the rail transit Line 9 and Line 12 West Extension (under construction) is also situated here. The objective is to design “a harmonious space of fields, forests, and waters” with a focus on functional development and planning, overall spatial design, ecological space design, and landscape control. Through this design, the project aims to thoroughly analyze the functional development planning for the area surrounding the rail transit station at the urban fringe, advance the harmonious integration between urban development and the countryside environment by undertaking a comprehensive study of spatial form, and have detailed planning and design for the ecological spaces and slow-traffic networks of Songjiang New Town.

4. Rural revitalization: The residential clusters of Cenbo Village, Jinze Town, Qingpu District, and its surrounding farmland have been chosen as the base of this competition project. The total area is approximately 30 hectares. Cenbo Village, the base of this competition project, is situated in the central part of Jinze Town, Qingpu District. It is part of the pilot zone of the Yangtze River Delta Ecology and Greenery Integration Demonstration Zone. The objective is to design “a sustainable rural revitalization demonstration site” with a focus on the development path of rural revitalization, rural environment enhancement, precision management and operation of rural areas, and countryside landscape control. Through this design, the project aims to define the development path of rural revitalization, enhance the quality of the rural environment to create vibrant, comfortable, and distinctive public spaces for the villagers’ daily lives and comprehensive service functions, and explore a sustainable operation model and approach for the village.

For each base type, there will be 1 “Outstanding Design Award for Best Contribution” (4 in total), 2 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Practice” (8 in total), and 3 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Exploration” (12 in total). The monetary reward for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Contribution” is RMB 300,000 yuan, for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Practice” is RMB 200,000 yuan, and for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Exploration” is RMB 100,000 yuan.

IV. Micro Space Urban Design Competition

With the theme of “Six Arts Pavilions”, the Micro Space Urban Design Competition consists of two categories: Universal Design for Six Arts Pavilion and Site-specific Design for Six Arts Pavilion. The Six Arts Pavilion is a small-sized and multi-functional service facility within the “15-minute community life circle”.

Universal Design for Six Arts Pavilion: The universal design for the Six Arts Pavilion is classified into three types — basic, upgraded, and compound.

Site-specific Design for Six Arts Pavilion: Two distinct locations in Shanghai— one along the Xuhui Riverside and one in Minhang District — have been selected as the competition bases.

The Xuhui Riverside competition base is located in the WS3 Unit along the riverside. It is positioned between the Long Museum to the west and the Star Museum to the east, and adjacent to the West Bund Financial Hub to the north. The aim is to design an upgraded-type Six Arts Pavilion with the objectives of enriching the supply of public cultural products and services along the Xuhui Riverside, showcasing the cultural image of Shanghai’s largest cultural and artistic cluster, and severing as a captivating attraction for the public to enjoy the river scenes and immerse themselves in the cultural corridor on the West Bund. The recommended floor area for this Six Arts Pavilion is approximately 100–200 square meters, encompassing the site design of the surrounding 50-meter public area, as well as the design of the overall space and functionality of the pavilion.

The Minhang competition base is situated within the Jinxinyuan Park, Pujin Green Land, on the eastern side of Pujin Road in the Pujin Neighborhood. Jinxinyuan Park is a neighborhood park primarily featuring lush lawns, encompassing an area of approximately 3.06 hectares. The aim is to design a compound-type Six Arts Pavilion with the objectives to accommodate the diverse needs of various user groups and adapt to various scenarios for a wide range of public services in alignment with the ecological, resilient, and aesthetic qualities of the garden-style neighborhood to ultimately establish a distinctive spatial hub within the community’s life circle. The recommended floor area for this Six Arts Pavilion is approximately 300–400 square meters, encompassing the site design of the surrounding 50-meter public area, as well as the design of the overall space and functionality of the pavilion.

The Universal Design for Six Arts Pavilion has the following award categories: 1 “Outstanding Design Award for Best Contribution”, 2 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Practice”, and 5 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Exploration”. The Site-specific Design for Six Arts Pavilion has the following award categories: 1 “Outstanding Design Award for Best Contribution”, 2 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Practice”, and 3 “Outstanding Design Awards for Best Exploration”. The monetary reward for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Contribution” is RMB 130,000 yuan, for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Practice” is RMB 80,000 yuan, and for the “Outstanding Design Award for Best Exploration” is RMB 50,000 yuan.

V. Schedule and Participation Method

The award announcement and competition task assignment will be released on August 4, 2023; registration and sign-up must be completed by August 18, and entries are required to be submitted by October 6. The evaluation process will take place in mid-October, followed by an exhibition of the winning entries in late October. The award ceremony is scheduled for late November.

To join this year’s challenge, participants can visit the official website of the Shanghai Urban Planning and Natural Resources Bureau and click on the “Urban Design Challenge” link icon located at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, participants can directly access the challenge portal at https://sudcen.qxqy.sh.cn.

Professionals from both domestic and international backgrounds are welcome to participate in the competition!