A' Design Award opens 2026 city planning and urban design entries

A' Design Award & Competition has opened entries for its 2026 A' International City Planning and Urban Design Awards, with a September 30 deadline and results due May 1, 2027. The competition targets planners, municipalities and design professionals worldwide and ties winners to a promotional prize package.

Why it matters: - The competition puts sustainable, resilient and people-centered city design in front of an international jury and a global press network. - Winning projects get recognition that can help planners, municipalities and firms showcase work tied to quality of life, mobility, public space and long-term urban development. - The program is open to projects completed within the last 10 years, widening access for active urban development teams.

What happened: - A' Design Award & Competition opened entries for the A' International City Planning and Urban Design Awards 2026 on July 9, 2026. - The call is open worldwide to urban planners, municipalities, design professionals, landscape architects, infrastructure planners, transport planners, environmental planners, urban development agencies, urban regeneration specialists, consultancies, software developers, brands and research and development companies. - Eligible submissions include masterplans, zoning proposals, infrastructure designs, landscape blueprints, public space concepts, urban renewal projects, transit-oriented developments and sustainable city designs.

The details: - The competition uses a two-phase process that starts with a complimentary preliminary evaluation. - Projects that pass the preliminaries can move to nomination, and a nominal fee applies at that stage. - Entries are evaluated anonymously by an international jury of more than 300 academics, architects, urban planners, engineers, policymakers and design professionals. - The deadline for entries is September 30, 2026. - Results will be announced on May 1, 2027. - Professional-edition laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes a design excellence certificate, lifetime winner logo license, yearbook, exhibitions in Italy, an award trophy, gala-night invitation, translations and inclusion in rankings and classification platforms. - Winners also receive an exclusive interview, a press release announcing the victory and a press kit with images, logos and portfolio material. - The competition says press kits will be distributed to thousands of accredited press members, with dozens of press partners already committed to publish selected winning projects. - Additional details are available in the official category page, and registrations are available through the entry portal. - Past winners are listed on the winners page.

Between the lines: - The awards are designed as both a competition and a promotion platform, pairing jury recognition with broad media distribution. - The prize structure suggests the program is trying to reward not only design quality but also visibility for urban planning work that can be difficult to market on its own. - The emphasis on sustainability, resilience and people-centered planning reflects where many city-design projects are heading globally.

What's next: - Interested teams can register and submit entries before the September 30 deadline. - Award results will follow in May 2027, with laureates then receiving prize materials and publicity support. - A' Design Award & Competition says more information is available at designaward.com.

The bottom line: - The 2026 A' City Planning and Urban Design Awards are now open, offering planners and municipalities a chance to turn eligible projects into international recognition and media exposure.