February 26, 2020

Nominate Your City for the 2021 Sustainable Transport Award

ITDP, together with an international committee of development and transport experts, invites you to nominate your city for the Sustainable Transport Award.

Nominations accepted between now and July 2, 2020 at staward.org.

Does your city deserve more recognition for new transport, street design, or policy improvements that increase mobility and improve quality of life for your residents? The Sustainable Transport Award is a unique, global recognition conferred by a committee of international experts in sustainable transport and development that supports the often-unrecognized progress happening on the ground.

Anyone with city contact info and details of projects can submit a nomination, which can take as little as a few minutes. If your city is selected for the second round, more details will be requested.

Since 2005, the Sustainable Transport Award has recognized courageous leadership and vision in sustainable transportation and urban livability. These strategies should improve mobility for all residents, reduce transportation greenhouse and air pollution emissions, and enhance safety and access for bicyclists and pedestrians. Nominations are welcome from any interested parties, but typically include government, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. Nominations must include verifiable project data and contact information for the city.

Women walking along colorful street in Fortaleza
Fortaleza, Brazil won the STA in 2019 for its pedestrian interventions, which have decreased traffic related deaths and injuries for the past few years.

Cities of all sizes from all over the world have been recognized by the committee for best practices in sustainable transport. Past winners include:

A complete list of winning cities with details on their win is available at staward.org.

  • Pune, India
  • Fortaleza, Brazil
  • Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • Santiago, Chile
  • Yichang, China
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Paris, France
  • Mexico City, México
  • San Francisco, United States
  • Ahmedabad, India
  • Bogotá, Colombia
The 2020 Sustainable Transport Award (STA) was given to Pune for its different interventions in many sustainable transport modes, particularly its expansion of pedestrian infrastructure.

Pune, India is a city with a population of over 3.5 million people in the central northwest state of Maharashtra located a few hours by bus from Mumbai. Pune has become a regional leader in complete streets –  streets that are designed for all users, not just for cars. In the complete streets approach pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and transit riders are given safe access for movement and passage. Pune plans to increase its complete streets by 20 kilometers in the upcoming year. Additionally, Pune has retrofitted 15 kilometers of footpaths along streets to give pedestrians safe passage and plans to expand these another 35 kilometers. Rainbow BRT, one of the first BRTs in India, has added 200 CNG (compressed natural gas) and 25 electric buses to its fleet. It plans to add 400 CNG and 125 electric buses in the upcoming year to grow the fleet to 2500 buses by 2019. The BRT corridor has expanded to 50 kilometers and plans to expand the corridor to 90 kilometers by end of year.

In June 2020, Pune will host MOBILIZE, a transport summit held each year in the winning city. MOBILIZE brings together over 200 international urban transport and development planners, practitioners, and officials, world-class researchers, and NGO representatives to share strategies, challenges, research and study the example of Pune as an international best practice in sustainable transport. The winner of the 2021 STA is where the summit goes next year.

“The Sustainable Transport Award is about rewarding progress and not just perfection. In Pune, focusing on sustainable transport basics like walking, cycling, and public transit, Pune demonstrates that the fundamentals matter.” Explained Aimee Gauthier, Head of MOBILIZE, “We see this award as incentive for Pune to continue to improve and as a recognition of the work that many Indian cities are doing.”

The winner and honorable mentions will be recognized at a ceremony and reception in Washington, DC during the Transport Research Board conference in January 2021.

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