Welcome to the official submission portal for the 2026 Emerging Communities’ Forum (ECF) Awards. This year, our international recognition program is powered by an unprecedented trilateral alliance, bringing together global strategic policy, local municipal implementation, and cutting-edge design excellence. By combining our networks, we offer applicants an elite, highly visible international platform to showcase work that successfully bridges physical urban hardware with community-driven social software. 

Our Collaborative Power: What the Alliance Stands For

The strength of this year's awards lies in the unique, combined expertise of our three co-organizing institutions:

• IUPF (International Urban Professionals Forum): Standing at the forefront of global urban research and practice, IUPF is an international network of senior planners, architects, urban actors and scholars. IUPF drives the scientific and professional direction of the forum, ensuring that all submitted entries are evaluated against the highest standards of global planning discourse and sustainable development.
• İPA (İstanbul Planning Agency): Functioning as the official planning, strategy, and knowledge hub of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, İPA represents real-world, localized democratic governance. İPA brings municipal authority and a robust institutional track record to the platform, ensuring that winning ideas are directly connected to actionable public policies and local urban realities.
• GDA (Global Design Association): Serving as our strategic partner for design innovation and international outreach, GDA is a premier network celebrating exceptional design, creativity, and spatial optimization. GDA elevates the aesthetic, experimental, and cultural narrative of the awards, while serving as a crucial bridge for mobilization and global recognition across international design networks.

The 1st IUPF - IPA International Conference 2026 Emerging Communities Forum “Istanbul 2050: Building Grassroots Ingenuity and Global Policy”, will be held in the magnificent global city; Istanbul, from the 7th to 9th October 2026. The event will be the epilogue of IUPF series of global events, a manifestation of the cooperation between IUPF and the influential IPA and the collective position towards enhancing innovation and creativity in the urban domains by GDA. Achieving these goals through a variety of awards offers to recognize exemplary contributions from the level of students to established planning firms, municipalities and city institutions. The categories stress the innovative, experimental and creative approaches to urbanism, city making and visualization of city narratives. 

Why This Collaboration is Your Greatest Asset

Submitting your work to a joint İPA-IUPF-GDA program means your initiatives, projects, or research are not just being reviewed by a isolated jury—they are being evaluated by an interconnected ecosystem of academics, city managers, and elite international designers.

Winners will receive unparalleled international exposure:

• Global Validation: Endorsement from three distinct tiers of the urban professional spectrum (global research, municipal government, and design excellence).
• Live International Stage: Finalists and winners will be celebrated during a dedicated Awards Special Session at the prestigious İPA Florya Kampüs in Istanbul, right in front of world leaders, delegates, and municipal changemakers.
• Exhibition & Publication: Selected works will be integrated into the forum's digital showcase and the physical exhibition fabric of ECF 2026, creating lasting professional impact long after the closing ceremony.

The Categories

Select a category below to review the eligibility criteria, submission standards, and to begin your application.

1. The Grand GDA Urban Excellence Award

The Urban Excellence Award recognizes outstanding spatial projects and influential professional endeavors across the globe. It rewards conceptual plans still in the design phase, projects currently in progress, and successfully implemented developments. The category is open to a wide range of professionals and institutions operating in the domains of urban and regional planning.

Participants are invited to submit the diverse tools used in contemporary planning practice, including: normative master plans, strategic plans, urban design projects, public programs, policy frameworks, applied research works, software, and smart tools designed for urban planning. This prestigious honor is bestowed across two tiers of recognition: the Grand Award and the Merit Award.

Key Criterion: 

Submissions will be evaluated on their planning innovation, technical rigor, long-term sustainability, and their ability to provide transferable methodologies to the broader field of urban and regional development. Projects must have been completed from 2021 until today.

By recognising these achievements, the award celebrates practitioners who contribute to the evolution of global urbanism by drawing on heritage, local knowledge, and contemporary innovation. It highlights visionary efforts to shape a “new-old map” of urban transformation, where historical memory becomes a living resource for inclusive, resilient, and future-ready communities worldwide.

Eligibility: Municipalities, Consultants, Cities, Institutes and Universities from all over the world! 

Entry Fee: € 1000

Prizes & Laurels:

• Official recognition and presentation during the Awards Special Session at the ECF 2026 Congress in Istanbul
• Commemorative IUPF-IPA-GDA Excellence Certificate and Trophy
• One complimentary registration waiver for a single representative to attend the 2027 Emerging Communities' Forum
• One-year honorary membership at IUPF for a designated team representative

Jury Panel

Chaired by Prof. Ali A. Alraouf supported by Prof. Dara Golubovic Matic, alongside appointed senior representatives from IUPF, IPA, and GDA Board Members ( http://www.gdeas.org/?page_id=2803 ).

2. The City Narrative Global Award

Cities are woven from the stories of their inhabitants. This category invites local planners, city managers, and civic organizations from around the world to share a local urban narrative that embodies resilience, innovation, and community triumph.

Key Criterion: The jury will focus on the human element—evaluating how your narrative has fundamentally reshaped and uplifted the socio-spatial reality of your local territory. We welcome a diverse array of entries, including visionary policy structures, tactical urban guidelines, newly implemented master plans, or community-driven methodologies that solve pressing local challenges. Projects and Initiatives must have been completed (if applicable) from 2021 until today. 

Eligibility: Municipalities, Consultants, Cities, Institutes, and Universities.

Submission Fee: € 500

Prizes & Laurels

• High-profile exposure and recognition at the ECF 2026 Awards Special Session in Istanbul
• Official Laureate Certificate and Partnership Trophy
• Complimentary delegate credentials for the 2027 Emerging Communities' Forum
• One-year professional membership at IUPF (individual)

Jury Panel

Chaired by Prof. Ali A. Alraouf supported by Prof. Dara Golubovic Matic, alongside appointed senior representatives from IUPF, IPA, and GDA Board Members.

3. Best Urban Research Award

The Best Urban Research Award celebrates inspiring scholarly publications, including peer-reviewed books, book chapters, and published academic papers. This award emphasizes the critical significance of scientific publishing as a vital medium for illuminating contemporary debates, pioneering methodologies, and practical achievements within the global planning discourse. The honor is bestowed upon high-quality academic publications authored by affiliated members or practitioners within the IUPF, IPA, or GDA networks

Award Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated on their original contribution to planning literature, theoretical rigor, empirical depth, and their relevance to solving real-world urban and spatial challenges. Publications must have been issued from 2023 until today.

Eligibility

Open to scholars, writers, book authors, researchers, urban and city critics, professors, and academics.

Entry Fee: €150

Prizes & Laurels:

• Official recognition and presentation during the Awards Special Session at the ECF 2026 Congress in Istanbul
• Commemorative IUPF-IPA-GDA Excellence Certificate and Trophy
• One complimentary registration waiver for the winner to attend the 2027 Emerging Communities' Forum
• One-year honorary membership at IUPF for the award recipient

Jury Panel:

Chaired by Prof. Ali A. Alraouf supported by Prof. Dara Golubovic Matic, alongside appointed senior representatives from IUPF, IPA, and GDA Board Members.

4. Emerging Urban Professional Award

This prestigious category recognizes the outstanding contributions of an emerging urban professional who, through their work, has provided a pioneering approach, innovative initiative, or tangible positive change in local communities. Special emphasis is placed on recognizing impactful work carried out within developing territories across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

Key Criterion: Submissions will be evaluated on personal leadership, innovation, and the measurable socio-spatial impact of the candidate's initiatives or projects within their targeted territory. 

Eligibility: Open to any individual urban professional aged 35 and below, who is affiliated with or registered through IUPF, IPA, or GDA. 

Entry Fee: €100. 

Prizes & Laurels:

• Official recognition and presentation during the Awards Special Session at the ECF 2026 Congress in Istanbul. 
• Commemorative IUPF-IPA-GDA Excellence Certificate and Trophy. 
• One complimentary registration waiver for the winner to attend the 2027 Emerging Communities' Forum. 
• One-year honorary membership at IUPF for the award recipient.

Jury Panel:

Chaired by Prof. Ali A. Alraouf supported by Prof. Dara Golubovic Matic, alongside appointed senior representatives from IUPF, IPA, and GDA Board Members.

5. Distinguished Student Award

IUPF, IPA, and GDA are deeply committed to encouraging and nurturing the next generation of urban professionals from around the globe. The Distinguished Student Award is specifically designed to spotlight and promote exceptional academic projects undertaken by students worldwide. This award is addressed to individual students or collaborative student groups who have achieved outstanding results with their design studio projects, undergraduate bachelor theses, or Master's theses in urban planning or a closely related spatial discipline.

Key Criterion: Submissions will be evaluated on their conceptual originality, fresh perspective on contemporary urban challenges, design or analytical clarity, and academic excellence. Projects must have been produced from 2023 until today.

Eligibility: Open to current undergraduate or postgraduate students worldwide. Applicants must provide official proof of enrollment, such as a valid university student card or an official registration letter.

Entry Fee: €25

Prizes & Laurels:

• Official recognition and presentation during the Awards Special Session at the ECF 2026 Congress in Istanbul.
• Commemorative IUPF-IPA-GDA Excellence Certificate and Trophy.
• One complimentary registration waiver for a single student representative to attend the 2027 Emerging Communities' Forum.
• One-year honorary student membership at IUPF for the recipient or a designated group representative.

Jury Panel: Chaired by Prof. Ali A. Alraouf, alongside appointed senior representatives from IUPF, IPA, and GDA

6. Cinematic Urbanism Award

The city is a stage where life continuously unfolds. Embracing this profound perspective, the Cinematic Urbanism Award invites creators to capture the true spirit, identity, and atmosphere of a city through the medium of a short film (3 to 5 minutes in duration). 

During the Congress in October, a special interactive session will be entirely dedicated to screening the top submittals and selected winners. Laureates will have the opportunity to showcase their work, share their localized narratives, and participate in a dynamic group panel exploring the vital relationship between urban spaces, cinematic storytelling, and the documenting of cities through their unique places, sounds, colors, and people. 

Key Criterion: Submissions will be evaluated on their artistic creativity, storytelling impact, technical production quality, and their ability to powerfully evoke the emotional and spatial essence of the featured urban environment. The work must have been produced from 2023 until today.

Eligibility: Open to both institutions (such as municipalities, consultancy firms, city administrations, research institutes, and universities) and individuals (including researchers, students, visual artists, filmmakers, and urban critics).

Entry Fee Tier:

€150 for professional and institutional applicants.
€25 for individual student applicants. 

Prizes & Laurels:

• Official recognition, screening, and panel presentation during the designated Cinematic Urbanism Special Session at the ECF 2026 Congress in Istanbul. 
• Commemorative IUPF-IPA-GDA Excellence Certificate and Trophy. 
• One complimentary registration waiver for a single representative to attend the 2027 Emerging Communities' Forum. 
• One-year honorary membership at IUPF for the recipient or a designated group representative. 

Jury Panel:

Chaired by Prof. Ali A. Alraouf supported by Prof. Dara Golubovic Matic, alongside appointed senior representatives from IUPF, IPA, and GDA Board Members.

7. Istanbul Award

Inspired by Istanbul: Memories and the City (2003) by Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk, this premier award explores the profound cultural transformations and the continuous dialogue between a vivid modern future and a receding historical past. This category invites global participants to illustrate how this dichotomy between heritage and the contemporary condition manifests within their own local territories.

It offers a unique opportunity to apply the concepts of identity and memory articulated by Pamuk to the challenges of contemporary cities. Exceptional architectural designs, urban master plans, academic research, localized case studies, and strategic planning guidelines will be recognized for providing exemplary models of urban regeneration—specifically where the heritage of the past is deeply respected without compromising contemporary development.

Key Criterion: Submissions will be evaluated on their depth of cultural insight, historical sensitivity, design innovation, and their ability to demonstrate sustainable urban regeneration methodologies that successfully bridge heritage preservation with modern functionality. The projects must have been completed from 2021 until today.

Eligibility: Open to both institutions (including municipalities, consultancy firms, city administrations, research institutes, and universities) and individuals (including researchers, students, visual artists, and urban critics).

Entry Fee Tier:

• €150 for professional and institutional applicants.
• €25 for individual student applicants.

Prizes & Laurels:

• Official recognition and presentation during the Awards Special Session at the ECF 2026 Congress in Istanbul.
• Commemorative IUPF-IPA-GDA Excellence Certificate and Trophy.
• One complimentary registration waiver for a single representative to attend the 2027 Emerging Communities' Forum.
• One-year honorary membership at IUPF for the recipient or a designated group representative.

Jury Panel:

Chaired by Prof. Ali A. Alraouf supported by Prof. Dara Golubovic Matic, alongside appointed senior representatives from IUPF, IPA, and GDA Board Members.