LOS ANGELES (May 18, 2016) \u2014 AECOM and Van Alen Institute today launched the annual Urban SOS competition, inviting university students to become the visionaries of tomorrow by taking on some of the most pressing challenges faced by the world\u2019s cities. The contest is presented in partnership with \u2018100 Resilient Cities \u2014 Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation.\u2019<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s competition is themed \u201cUrban SOS: Fair Share.\u201d The competition challenges students to apply the tools and technologies of the sharing economy in support of more equitable access to resources, sustainable built environments and enriched lives for urban residents. It is the seventh in a series of student competitions organized by AECOM and builds off of Van Alen Institute\u2019s 120-plus-year history of organizing student design competitions.<\/p>\n
The sharing economy is revolutionizing mature industries worldwide and people\u2019s appetite for borrowing, renting and sharing continues to grow. Research has shown that as digital natives, today\u2019s students are adapting to the sharing economy faster than any other demographic, and as such, are uniquely placed to think big and reimagine how design and the concepts of the sharing economy can be fused to tackle urban challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cUrban SOS: Fair Share\u201d asks students to understand the social complexity of the sharing economy from a multidisciplinary perspective not often taught at the university level. The competition challenges teams of up to four students from different disciplines to come together to identify a problem or need that current infrastructure struggles to serve. The problem may be global in nature, but teams must identify a specific site and city for their proposal. They will determine how design and technology can create a sharing system with both digital and physical components that address this need.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair Share\u201d asks students to consider these questions, among others:<\/p>\n
\u2022 How can physical design strategies and digital sharing platforms together create more equitable access to services and resources in underserved communities?<\/p>\n
\u2022 How could government agencies share spatial and technological assets (such as schoolyards, the internet, books, buses, computers, office spaces and information) with the people who need them the most? How could design help transform these assets to better meet public needs?<\/p>\n
\u2022 Can technology enable and empower communities to care for their neighborhoods (i.e., parks, streets), people (especially senior citizens, kids after school), and cultural assets that don\u2019t get the attention they need?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal of \u2018Urban SOS\u2019 is to inspire the world\u2019s future leaders to envision and realize more resilient cities,\u201d said Stephen Engblom, global director of AECOM Cities. \u201cThe past six years of the competition have allowed us and our key partners, Van Alen Institute and \u2018100 Resilient Cities \u2014 Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation,\u2019 to imagine more complex cities and urban solutions through the next generation of big thinkers.\u201d<\/p>\n
“We’re excited to launch \u2018Urban SOS: Fair Share\u2019 and watch student teams tackle the most pressing challenges of our time through the lens of a hot topic like the sharing economy,” said Van Alen Institute Executive Director David van der Leer. “Design can be catalytic: These student projects have the capacity to propel processes around the globe and change thinking across the field of design. This competition gives students the chance to shift policy paradigms across time, for their futures and ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Entries should be submitted by midnight EDT on September 12, 2016, at aecom.com\/urbansos<\/a>. Expert juries of global thought leaders in five cities around the world will select competition finalists, who will advance to the final round in Los Angeles to present their proposals before an interdisciplinary panel. Winning teams will receive a combination of cash and in-kind support from AECOM to help bring their project to life.<\/p>\n About AECOM<\/strong> About Van Alen Institute<\/strong> About 100 Resilient Cities \u2014 Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation<\/strong> AMERICAS 16-0502 <\/strong><\/p>\n AECOM Media Contact:<\/strong> Van Alen Institute:<\/strong>
\nAECOM is built to deliver a better world. We design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets for governments, businesses and organizations in more than 150 countries. As a fully integrated firm, we connect knowledge and experience across our global network of experts to help clients solve their most complex challenges. From high-performance buildings and infrastructure, to resilient communities and environments, to stable and secure nations, our work is transformative, differentiated and vital. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM had revenue of approximately $18 billion during fiscal year 2015. See how we deliver what others can only imagine at aecom.com<\/a> and @AECOM.
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\nAt Van Alen Institute, we believe design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people\u2019s lives. We collaborate with communities, scholars, policymakers, and professionals on local and global initiatives that rigorously investigate the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges of tomorrow. Building on more than a century of experience, we develop cross-disciplinary research, provocative public programs, and inventive design competitions.
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\n100 Resilient Cities \u2014 Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC) helps cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social, and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. 100RC provides this assistance through: funding for a Chief Resilience Officer in each member city who will lead the resilience efforts; resources for drafting a resilience strategy; access to private sector, public sector, academic, and NGO resilience tools; and membership in a global network of peer cities to share best practices and challenges. 100RC currently has 66 member cities. For more information, visit: www.100resilientcities.org<\/a>.
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\nBrendan Ranson-Walsh
\nVice President, Global External Communications
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\nBrendan.Ranson-Walsh@aecom.com<\/a><\/p>\n
\nSteven Thomson
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