{"id":21580,"date":"2017-05-02T13:01:04","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T13:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/taiwan\/?post_type=press-release&p=21580"},"modified":"2017-11-14T13:35:58","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T18:35:58","slug":"urban-sos-2017-hour-city-competition-challenges-students-strengthen-connections-cities-surrounding-regions","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/tw\/press-releases\/urban-sos-2017-hour-city-competition-challenges-students-strengthen-connections-cities-surrounding-regions\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban SOS\u2122 2017: hOUR City competition challenges students to strengthen connections between cities and their surrounding regions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Multidisciplinary student teams asked to redefine the\u00a0boundaries\u00a0of the \u201chour city\u201d radius, providing broader access to opportunity<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES (May 2, 2017) \u2014 AECOM and Van Alen Institute, with 100 Resilient Cities \u2013 Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation, today launched Urban SOS\u2122 2017: h<\/em>OUR City, a global student ideas competition that challenges multidisciplinary teams to help bridge the divide between thriving and struggling communities in regions around the world.<\/p>\n

The \u201chour city\u201d radius \u2013 the distance people can travel in one hour – has historically defined the boundary of a city, the reach of its infrastructure, and its exchanges with surrounding areas. However, with the forces of globalization and dramatic geographic, social, and economic shifts, the time has come to reimagine new ways to connect people in suburban, rural, and isolated urban communities. h<\/em>OUR City invites students to create outcomes that promote equal access to opportunity. The solutions proposed by students must tackle transportation, housing, or economic development challenges, and re-imagine what a future \u201chour city\u201d boundary can be.<\/p>\n

The 2017 challenge will be the eighth in the Urban SOS\u2122 student ideas competition series founded by AECOM, a premier, fully integrated global infrastructure firm, and the third one hosted in collaboration with Van Alen Institute, a design nonprofit with a 120-plus-year history of organizing competitions, and 100 Resilient Cities \u2013 Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are experiencing tectonic shifts in the global geo-political-economic landscapes and cities are at the epicenter. AECOM is an ideas-driven company that advises cities around the world on how to address these challenges to succeed,\u201d said Stephen Engblom, AECOM global cities director. \u201cWe believe that the ideas incubated by the Urban SOS competition will bear imaginative solutions that can then be delivered in partnership with city leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCities today face opportunities and challenges that require holistic, interdisciplinary solutions,\u201d said David van der Leer, executive director of Van Alen Institute. \u201cWe are proud to guide tomorrow\u2019s leaders to collaborate actively to imagine creative visions for the future of urban life and public space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the issues at the core of resilience building must be solved by working on a regional level, bridging the divide between urban, suburban, and rural communities. Areas such as transportation, the economy, and disaster preparedness need to involve both a city and its surrounding communities in order to be successful,\u201d said Michael Berkowitz, president of 100 Resilient Cities. \u201cWe are excited to continue our collaboration on the Urban SOS competition to imagine regional solutions through the next generation of leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

h<\/em>OUR City will convene juries of leading professionals from design, business, government, and other sectors in Hong Kong, London, New York, and Sydney to review the top student proposals. The finalist teams will then be invited to present at a final jury event in Los Angeles in January 2018, with prize money distributed among the finalist teams. The winning team will also receive in-kind support from AECOM to implement a pilot version of their project.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Urban SOS competition, Fair Share, challenged teams to combine design with the tools and technologies of the sharing economy to create more equitable access to resources, envision more sustainable built environments, and enrich the lives of urban residents. The winning team, comprising students at Washington University in St. Louis, proposed reusing United States Postal Service (USPS) post offices in Los Angeles slated for closure and excess capacity within the USPS distribution network to collect, store, and deliver surplus food to neighborhoods with limited food access. Team members include Irum Javed, Anu Samarajiva and Lanxi Zhang, students in public health, architecture\/urban design and landscape architecture\/urban design. The team is currently developing a pilot initiative to be implemented in Los Angeles later this year.<\/p>\n

Proposals to h<\/em>OUR City are due by 11:59 pm EDT on Monday, July 17. More information about the competition, as well as links to pre-register and enter the competition, can be found at https:\/\/aecom.com\/taiwan\/urbansos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Urban SOS\u2122 2017: h<\/em>OUR City is a project of AECOM and Van Alen Institute, in collaboration with 100 Resilient Cities \u2014 Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation. h<\/em>OUR City photo assets can be viewed here: http:\/\/ow.ly\/pq2H30bkQhr<\/a><\/p>\n

Urban SOS\u2122 is a trademark of AECOM.<\/p>\n

About AECOM<\/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<\/em> firm, AECOM had revenue of approximately $17.4 billion during fiscal year 2016. See how we deliver what others can only imagine at aecom.com<\/a> and @AECOM<\/a>.
\nWebsite: aecom.com\/taiwan\/urbansos<\/a>
\nFacebook: \/UrbanSOS
\nTwitter: @AECOMUrbanSOS<\/p>\n

About Van Alen Institute<\/strong>
\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.
\nWebsite: www.vanalen.org<\/a>
\nFacebook: \/vanaleninstitute
\nTwitter: @van_alen
\nInstagram: @van_alen<\/p>\n

About 100 Resilient Cities \u2013 Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation<\/strong>
\n100 Resilient Cities \u2013 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.
\nWebsite: www.100resilientcities.org<\/a>
\nFacebook: \/100ResilientCities
\nTwitter: @100ResCities<\/p>\n

AECOM Media Contact:<\/strong>
\nJason Marshall
\nDirector, Media Relations, Global External Communications
\n1.646.432.8474
\njason.marshall@aecom.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Van Alen Institute:<\/strong>
\nSteven Thomson
\nPrograms & Communications Manager
\n1.212.924.7000 x 12
\nsthomson@vanalen.org<\/a><\/p>\n

100 Resilient Cities:<\/strong>
\nAndrew Brenner
\nSenior Manager, Global
\nCommunications
\n1.646.612.7236
\nABrenner@100RC.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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