Key facts
- Type
- Competition
- Deadline
- 11/25/2026
In short
The Best Thesis Award 2026: Planning recognizes exceptional planning-related thesis projects focused on urban planning, regional development, spatial strategy, and future city-making, offering an international platform for emerging planners and urban designers.
Best Thesis Award 2026: Planning – Future Cities & Urbanism
CompetitionAccepting applications nowApply by 11/25/2026117 days left
Overview
The Best Thesis Award 2026: Planning is an international award recognizing outstanding thesis projects in the fields of urban planning, regional development, spatial strategy, and future city-making. The competition aims to highlight the critical role planners play in shaping resilient and inclusive environments amidst challenges like rapid urbanization, climate change, mobility issues, and social transformation. This award provides a global platform for emerging planners and urban designers to showcase visionary ideas and solutions that contribute meaningfully to the future development of human settlements. It seeks to identify and celebrate theses that exhibit strategic thinking, analytical rigor, innovation, and effective responses to contemporary urban challenges. Participants are encouraged to develop proposals that achieve a balance between economic growth, environmental sustainability, efficient mobility, adequate housing, robust infrastructure, and social equity in urban contexts. The scope of projects can encompass various scales, from neighborhood-level interventions to city-wide, metropolitan, or regional strategies.
What to build
Participants must submit their thesis project focused on urban planning, regional development, spatial strategy, and future city-making. Projects may address topics such as Urban Design and Placemaking, Regional and Territorial Planning, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), Sustainable Communities, Green and Blue Infrastructure, Housing and Community Development, Urban Policy and Governance, Smart Cities and Digital Twins, and Mobility and Transportation Systems.
Key dates
- DateJuly 6, 2026
Eligibility
The competition is open to individual participants only. Eligible individuals include Planning, Urban Design, and Urban Planning graduates from 2024, 2025, and 2026. Final-year students completing a planning-related thesis during 2026 are also eligible. Collaborative submissions are not permitted.
Judging criteria
- Strategic thinking
- Analytical rigor
- Innovation
- Meaningful responses to contemporary urban challenges
- Balance of economic growth, environmental sustainability, mobility, housing, infrastructure, and social equity