FAQ

Reinventing Cities is an international competition initiated by C40 to stimulate zero-carbon developments across the globe and to transform underutilized sites identified by cities into beacons of sustainability and resiliency. 

Reinventing Cities will:

• Foster collaboration between the private and public sectors to deliver zero-carbon urban regeneration.

• Support the implementation of innovative ideas that can be rolled out on a global scale.

• Act as a catalyst for public policy that supports decarbonized, sustainable, and resilient cities.

• Accelerate the change and innovation in the global building sector, which is responsible for 40% of emissions. 

Therefore, each Reinventing Cities project should serve as a model for carbon-neutral development, demonstrating innovative and replicable climate solutions and providing local community benefits.

In this competition, cities or city partners propose underutilised sites, which are ready to be released and transformed. Reinventing Cities will enable them to identify and select the best projects for the redevelopment of their sites.

The sites proposed for the competition comprise a diverse supply of land with a wide range of sizes and typologies – from existing buildings to empty parcels, and from a small plot in a city centre to a large site in a new development area.

For each site, bidding teams will compete to acquire the site and to implement their project. Their submitted projects will be holistic from inception to implementation and operation and will demonstrate how environmental performances can be achieved together with community benefits. Projects must also include a financial plan to turn the proposal into reality.

At the end of the competition process, each city will organise the legal agreement to finalise the site transfer. 

The competition consists of two phases: an Expression of Interest (phase 1) open to all and a Final Proposal (phase 2) restricted to the finalist teams.

The application process is described in the competition Regulation document, which can be downloaded here.

You may submit an Expression of Interest for one or several sites.

The Expression of Interest must be submitted electronically using the “Submit a project” button visible on each site’s web page. 

Following the submission of the Expressions of Interest, the City will undertake, with the support of C40, a technical analysis of the proposals, based on the evaluation criteria defined in the Regulation. 

The general rule is for cities to select 3 finalists per site, but for some specific cases, the city may decide to retain more finalists, with a maximum of 5 finalist teams.

The selected teams will be invited to submit a proposal for the final phase of the competition.

In addition to the Regulation, for each site on the dedicated web page, bidding teams will find one Site Requirements (SR), that outlines the site specifications, including local rules, the city’s expectations for the redevelopment, the terms of the property transfer and the specific timeline. Note that in addition to the SR, the city will provide specific competition documents and information regarding the site (maps, plans, urban planning rules, etc.) through a dedicated dataroom accessible from the page dedicated to each site.

The competition defines 10 Climate Challenges that are listed below. The bidding teams are invited to address these challenges to achieve carbon neutrality as well as to develop resilient and people-centered places. The choice of solutions should be made in consideration of the site. In each SR, cities have indicated specific environmental challenges and objectives for their site.

1.   Energy efficiency and low-carbon energy (mandatory)

2.   Clean construction and building life cycle(mandatory)

3.   Low-carbon mobility

4.   Climate resilience and adaptation

5.    Ecological services for the neighbourhood and green jobs

6.   Sustainable water management

7.   Sustainable waste management

8.   Biodiversity, urban re-vegetation and agriculture

9.   Inclusive actions, social benefits and community engagement

10. Quality urban design and architecture 

For general questions, you may contact us by using the dedicated question form on the right sidebar of this page. 

It is possible to bid for several sites in the same city. In that case, you will have to submit one expression of interest for each site.

The bidding teams must be multidisciplinary, they must develop the project from inception to implementation and operation. 

The bidding teams must at least comprise:

• A qualified person in charge of the project design such as an architect or an urban designer (mandatory from the Expression of Interest).

• An environmental expert (mandatory from the Expression of Interest).

• A developer, investor, or financial backer with the financial capacity to implement the project (recommended for the Expression of Interest phase and mandatory for the Final Proposal phase). 

In addition, bidding teams are encouraged to include other stakeholders such as creative project holders, start-ups, academics and community associations. 

Aside from the above, teams are free to incorporate any other disciplines/roles.

Yes, a company or legal entity can be part of several teams that are applying for different sites. In this case, the parties undertake to maintain strict confidentiality.

In addition, the same team may apply for multiple sites. In this case, the team must ensure that all team submissions are supported in the event of multiple winning projects.

The site visit is not mandatory to submit an Expression of Interest. However, since the applications include information on urban development and land use destination objectives, visiting the site may benefit applicants.

The application process is described in the Regulation that you can download here.

You may submit a first phase application (Expression of Interest) for one or several sites.

The Expression of Interest must be submitted electronically using the “Submit a project” button visible on each site’s page. 

• Team form. To present all team members and their role in each phase of the project.

• Presentation of the project. To present the proposed project, the approach and the strategy to minimize carbon emissions and the solutions to address the 10 Climate Challenges.

• Illustration board. To display drawings and concept illustrations.

• Legal and financial set-up (if applicable). A memo presenting the legal-financial framework proposed. Teams must present this only if the type of property transfer is not defined by the city or by local rules or the duration of the transfer (in case of concession, lease or occupancy) is not set by the city.

For each site, the Expression of Interest will be judged and selected according to the following criteria:

• The relevance of the project to the specifics of the site 

• The solutions proposed to address the 10 climate challenges 

• The suitability of the team 

More details are provided in the Regulation. 

Note that for some sites, further specifications regarding these criteria may be defined within each SR. There is no weighting of the selection criteria unless otherwise mentioned.

Cities generally indicate the type of property transfer. Bidding teams must submit a proposal that is consistent with the city's (or site owner's) expectations. When the city (or site owner) has not specified the nature of the property transfer, bidding teams should propose a legal framework that is consistent with their business model. 

At the end of the competition process, each city will arrange the legal agreement to finalize the site transfer, in accordance with local regulations.

Following the submission of the Expressions of Interest, the city will undertake, with the support of C40, a technical analysis of the Expressions of Interest, based on the evaluation criteria.

For each site, the city supported by C40 will set up a selection committee that will issue recommendations for the city to retain the finalist bidding teams. The general rule is for cities to select 3 finalists per site, but for some specific cases, the city may decide to retain more teams, with a maximum of 5 finalist teams. 

The selected bidding teams will be invited to submit a proposal for the final phase of the competition. 

Teams may withdraw their proposals until the final submission. 

The final proposal submission will be considered a commitment by the representative of the bidding team, for a minimum period of eighteen months from the date of the deadline for submissions.