Global Top Prize for Sustainable Development  

New Sustainable Cities And Human Settlements Awards

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I. Overview

The Sustainable Cities And Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) (originally “Global Human Settlements Award”) is an annual worldwide prize initiated in 2005 by Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) and supported by UNEP and other UN agencies. The awards program aims to accelerate the delivery of UN Sustainable Development Goals, notably SDG 11, recognize and celebrate winners’ remarkable progress and valuable experience in making cities and human settlements safer, greener, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable, and drive more to follow suit and take decisive actions on the ground.  ​​

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The assessment criteria of SCAHSA is rooted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda (NUA). SCAHSA has been successfully held for eighteen years until 2023, with awardees coming from different parts of the world. It has become one of the most important sustainable development recognitions in the world, producing a significant demonstration effect.

 

II. Transformation and Upgrading

As we are well advanced in the third decade of the new century, the divided world is facing daunting challenges, and is “woefully off track” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline. GFHS recognizes that innovation and leadership are key factors in delivering needed transformative changes for adequately and efficiently addressing climate change, poverty, pollution, biodiversity loss and conflicts, among others. ​

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To this end, the Global Human Settlements Foundation (GHSF) was founded in New York in November 2023 and launched at the United Nations Headquarters on March 1, 2024, focusing on rewarding and invigorating innovation and leadership, and empowering sustainable development, Specifically, the Foundation is dedicated to supporting SCAHSA program and GFHS initiatives.

 

Against this background, drawing on the successful experience of the Nobel Prize with 120+ years of history, the SCAHSA in 2024 has been fully upgraded to the "New Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards" (abbreviated as the "New SCAHSA"), aiming to become a global top prize for sustainable development. The "New SCAHSA" will recognize and reward outstanding innovation and local leadership in making sustainable cities and human settlements, including climate actions and sustainability practices, and promote their innovative strategies, technologies and approaches as well as successful experience. 

 

Winners will be awarded not only certificates and medals but also prize money at the Awards Ceremony, which will inspire their ambition and creativity and improve their work and living conditions, thus enabling them to achieve better performance.

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III. Awards Category and Name (9 categories)

City: Global Smart Green City

Planning & Design: Global Human Settlements Award on Planning and Design 

Building & Community: Global Model of Smart Green Building/Community

Tourism: Global Model of Sustainable Tourism

Village: Global Human Settlements Model of Village

Environment: Global Model of Ecological Restoration and Protection

Innovation: Global Innovation Award for Sustainable Development

Leadership: Global Leadership Award for Sustainable Development

Global Special Award for Sustainable Development

[In principle, there is only one winner under each category every year, a maximum of two in case of outstanding cases. In case there are no applicants to meet the assessment criteria in certain category, the category will be left vacant.]

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IV. The Jury

GFHS will invite 7 well-known experts to form a Jury Committee for assessment of the award applications. It is planned that Dr. Arab Hoballah will serve as the chairman of the New SCAHSA Jury. Dignitaries and pundits will be invited on board as senior advisors. The provisional list of experts on the jury is as follows:

1. Dr. Arab Hoballah, Senior Sustainability Expert, former Chief, Sustainable Consumption and Production, UNEP

2. Dr. Serge Salat, Expert, International Resource Panel, President, Urban Morphology and Complex Systems Institute, Paris, France, Leading Expert of International Green Model City Standards 3.0

3. Vicente Guallart, Founder, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia; Former Chief Architect of Barcelona City Council 

4. Andrea Reimer, Former Deputy Mayor of Vancouver, Chair of Planning, Transportation and Environment, Chair of Policy and Strategic Priorities, Vancouver City Council, Canada

5. Arch. Marina Khoury, RA CNU LEED, Partner and Director of Urban Planning, DPZ CoDESIGN, senior expert on smart growth, United States

6. Wang Dehui, former Deputy Director of the Department of Natural and Ecological Protection, Ministry of Environmental Protection, China, Director of the "China Office for the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity", and Expert Team Leader of the Environmental Engineering Assessment Center, Ministry of Environmental Protection, China 

7. Prof. Hong Tiecheng, Senior Architect, Urban Planner, Tourism Planner, Member of the Planning and Design Committee at the Global Forum on Human Settlements, Member of the Expert Committee of China Folk Architecture Research Association​​