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TRANSFORMATIVE CITIES 2018 PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

These 9 experiences have been chosen from a larger list of 32 who responded to an open call and were featured in the Atlas of Utopias. We are inviting a vote to popularise these experiences and to inspire transformative practices everywhere. The deadline for voting is 5 June 2018 and the results will be announced on 6 June 2018.

The nine experiences were selected by a multidisciplinary and multinational team of evaluators.

The goal of the voting is not to put one experience above others; there is no prize for the one with more votes. This is an exercise of Coopetition, meaning that we seek cooperation but have introduced an element of competition to encourage public interaction and engagement. Regardless of the vote results, we recognize the hard work, successes and victories of all the initiatives in the Atlas of Utopias.

Transformative Cities aims to support these initiatives by giving them visibility in our website and allied organizations and partners, which includes:

• A long piece written by commissioned journalists under a media partnership between Transformative Cities and Open Democracy,
• the production of photos and graphics based on their initiative and,
• the organization of collective learning spaces, either online via webinars or physically in events like the annual New Politics conference organized by TNI and its partners.

Last but not least, the transformative Cities process is open and we aim to improve it along the way. Please do contact us if have any suggestions or comments so the next edition contains even more collective intelligence.

> More on the award

CIUDAD TRANSFORMADORA
GALARDÓN DEL PÚBLICO 2018

Estas 9 experiencias han sido seleccionadas después de un proceso de evaluación de todas las iniciativas que respondieron a nuestra convocatoria. 32 de ellas aparecen en un Atlas de utopías. La evaluación corrió a cargo de un equipo evaluador de distintas disciplinas y procedencias.

El objetivo de la votación no es situar una experiencia por encima de las otras; no hay ningún premio para quien obtenga más votos. Este es un ejercicio de coopetición, es decir, que lo que buscamos es la cooperación entre las diversas experiencias, pero hemos introducido un elemento de competencia para promover una participación pública que esperamos que amplifique las prácticas transformadoras que nos gustaría ver florecer en todo el mundo.

Independientemente de los resultados, reconocemos el arduo trabajo, los logros y las victorias de las 9 iniciativas, así como de todas las representadas en el Atlas de utopías.

Ciudades Transformadoras persigue apoyar estas iniciativas brindándoles visibilidad en nuestro sitio web y entre organizaciones y socios afines, entre otras cosas mediante:

• Un artículo de corte periodístico escrito por encargo y gracias a la alianza entre Ciudades Transformadoras y Open Democracy,
• la producción de fotografías y material gráfico basados en la iniciativa y
• la organización de espacios de aprendizaje colectivo, ya sea por internet, a través de seminarios web, o físicamente, en eventos como la conferencia anual Nueva Política organizada por TNI y sus socios.

Por último, pero no por ello menos importante, el proceso de Ciudades Transformadoras está abierto y nuestro objetivo es irlo mejorando poco a poco. Si tienes sugerencias o comentarios, escríbenos para que la próxima edición goce de una aún mayor inteligencia colectiva.

ATLAS OF UTOPIAS

“Utopia lies at the horizon. When I draw nearer by two steps, it retreats two steps. If I proceed ten steps forward, it swiftly slips ten steps ahead. No matter how far I go, I can never reach it. What, then, is the purpose of utopia? It is to cause us to advance.”
– Eduardo Galeano

The Atlas of Utopias is a global gallery of inspiring community-led transformation in water, energy and housing.

The atlas features 32 communities from 19 countries who responded to the Transformative Cities initiative which seeks to learn from cities working on radical solutions to our world’s systemic economic, social and ecological crises.

The atlas is by no means a comprehensive mapping of transformative practices. Transformation in one area such as water management does not necessarily mean transformative practice elsewhere in the city. Nevertheless, the atlas showcases inspiring stories of communities challenging entrenched power and boldly developing alternatives. These range from small villages in Bolivia to international cities like Paris that have even defeated multinational corporations and hostile national governments in order to deliver democratic, people-powered solutions on water, energy and housing.

The cases show how public solutions based on principles of cooperation and solidarity rather than competition and private profit have been more successful in meeting people’s basic needs – and perhaps just as importantly in creating a spirit of confidence and empowerment that strengthen communities for many other challenges. These initiatives demonstrate in practice that another world is possible, and is already happening.

The Transformative Cities initiative is learning from and with the communities to explore what has been most transformative in terms of power relations and social and ecological justice and the lessons from their experience. Nine cases in particular will be explored in more depth and then in the first half of April the public will be invited to vote on their favorites. The learning will also be turned into publications and different media formats to inspire and assist other communities involved in similar struggles.