A coal city gone green, a porcelain city reborn: five cities win the world's top prize for kinder urban life

Five very different cities shared one stage in Fuzhou, China, this weekend, each holding the same prize: the Shanghai Award, the global honour for cities making life better in practical ways. Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, was recognised for pairing new homes with restored rivers, green spaces and safer ways to get around. Santiago de Cali, in Colombia, won for upgrading whole neighbourhoods — secure rights to land, working public services and nature brought back. Istanbul, in Türkiye, was honoured for rebuilding with people first: safer homes against earthquakes, energy savings and old heritage kept, without pushing residents out. Jingdezhen, in China, turned its centuries-old porcelain craft into a renewal engine with affordable housing, and Katowice, in Poland, completed the set — a former coal and steel city remade as a green, resilient one. An international jury picked the five from 92 applicant cities, and more than 1,000 people from over 60 countries came to learn from them.

SDG 11 · Sustainable cities and communities — Mechanism: institutional program