Economy

Turnaround Challenge urban innovation competition: the winner

Published

10 years ago

March 26, 2014

Blue & Green Tomorrow

An image of a solar-powered train station (pictured left) has been selected as the winner of Blue & Green Tomorrow’s urban innovation competition.

Tatenda Dean Nyazika, an energy engineering student at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, wins a copy of the 2013 book Turnaround Challenge signed by co-author Leo Johnson.

Entrants were asked to send in examples of urban innovation. The winner was selected by Johnson and the Blue & Green Tomorrow editorial team.

Leo Johnson says…

Click here to read Blue & Green Tomorrow's review of Turnaround Challenge

A small example, but the winning entry embodies a number of emerging shifts in our model of growth:

– Energy: from fossil fuels to renewables
– Manufacturing: from late-scale mass production, to the distributed micro
– Markets: from manufacturing demand focusing on already served affluent markets to an inclusive approach, anchored in solving needs
– From smart cities to smart citizens

Tatenda Dean Nyazika says…

As an energy engineering student, these are some of the things that I notice. I use this station every day and what intrigued me the most was the difference between the before and after images (I wish I had also taken a before photo). It used to be just a typical train station, with no innovation at all. The municipality had to take down the structure and build this new one with a low environmental footprint.

With the rise of carbon emissions and energy demand in cities, there has never been a greater need for urban innovation than right now. This is a good example of urban innovation because the station is now equipped with multimodality and eco-conception, paving way for a clean and low-carbon energy future.

Stay tuned for another giveaway this week on Blue & Green Tomorrow.