Toronto Calls on the City’s Young to Improve Public Spaces

If you’ve ever walked through a neighbourhood in Toronto and been inspired with ways in which to embellish the community, this might be the perfect opportunity for you to make a difference.

The City of Toronto has launched an “urban ideas competition” that welcomes innovative and creative solutions for public spaces from young people. The competition, dubbed ‘NXT City Prize’ will be hosted by local urban strategy studio Distl and the City. In hopes of engaging young people under the age of 30, submissions will be judged based on their ability to contribute positively to the local community and the city as a whole.

“The NXT City Prize is an ideal platform for youth to take ownership of their city and to apply their creative talents to solve everyday challenges with Toronto's urban spaces," said Jennifer Keesmaat, Chief Planner for the City of Toronto. “This is a chance for young, creative minds to offer new ideas and see them realized.”

Submissions are welcome from independent participants or groups with a maximum of four members until July 31st. Ideas will be reviewed by a panel of judges based on several factors including: originality, feasibility, impact and clarity. All of the judges on the panel are industry experts who are avidly engaged in urban planning and expect to be impressed by the turnout, stressing the importance of youth community involvement.The grand prize winner will leave the outdoor gala, August 14th (where the winners are announced) with $5,000 cash and an opportunity to have their idea materialized, with up to $10,000 to implement the idea with a team of professionals. You can work alongside leading industry experts to “turn your vision into reality.” Two runner-up prizes of $2,500 each are also awarded for the most original entry and for the top entry by an individual or team under 18 years of age.

“The goal of this competition is to encourage young people to think critically about how we’re using public spaces and move away from conventional thinking about those spaces,” said Distl co-founder, Mackenzie Keast. “It’s their future and their opportunity to shape the city in which they live.”

Submission guidelines

In a short, 250 word written article, participants are expected to communicate their vision for one or more City-owned public space improvement project(s). The submission must include visuals with up to two panels sized 36” by 48”. Participants are welcome to submit an optional accessory video up to three minutes in length in addition to the submission requirements. For more information and guidelines, visit http://www.nxtcityprize.com/.