Six Cities Selected to Receive Certificates of Merit for AIPH World Green City Awards 2022

In addition to the 18 AIPH World Green City Awards finalists six more cities will receive Certificates of Merit for the innovative approaches to urban greening demonstrated in their entries.

“The AIPH World Green City Awards are all about showcasing innovation and inspiring a global movement for greener cities. While the entries from the 18 finalists are truly inspirational, there are many others which are certainly worthy of recognition. We are pleased to be celebrating the fantastic work of cities who, although not selected as finalists, still demonstrate impressive leadership and unique approaches to urban greening and green city design which have the potential for greater uptake and collective impact”- Mr. Tim Briercliffe, Secretary General, AIPH.

In this inaugural edition of the AIPH World Green City Awards, the Technical Panel were granted the ability to nominate entries for receipt of Certificates of Merit. These Certificates of Merit are awarded to cities who were not selected as finalists, but whose entries demonstrated a particularly inspiring and innovative approach to city greening which has the potential for replicability by other cities around the world. Six entries were nominated by the Technical Panel, and later accepted by the Jury.

The six entries from cities who will receive Certificates of Merit for the AIPH World Green City Awards 2022, and which are not category-specific, are as follows:

Transforming Mown Turf Lawns to Urban Pollinator Meadows

City of Vancouver, Canada

City of Logan Climate Change Resilience Strategy and Net Zero Commitment

City of Logan, Australia

Cooling the City

Penrith City Council, Australia

Application of recycled water in the irrigation of urban open spaces (Parks & Stadiums)

Bulawayo City Council, Zimbabwe

City of São Paulo’s Rain Gardens

City of São Paulo, Brazil

Urban Agriculture Strategy

City of Montréal, Canada

The case studies showcasing each of the six entries by cities who will receive a Certificate of Merit can be viewed here.

Entries in the AIPH World Green City Awards are evaluated in a 2-stage judging process, firstly by a Technical Panel of experts and followed by a world-renowned 2022 Awards Jury. AIPH recently announced the 3 finalists in each of six categories who achieved  the highest scores in the first round of judging, and each of these finalists will receive a Highly Commended certificate for their leading initiative. From these finalists, the Jury selected a winner in each category and an overall winner.

“The diversity of the projects recommended was truly impressive – each bringing its own example of a shift in thinking by municipalities throughout the world. Impressively, most projects can be adapted to many geographic and economic realities, enhancing the potential for their uptake throughout the communities of the world”- Ms. Colleen Mercer Clarke, Chair, International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Working Group on Climate Change and Member of the Jury.

The Certificates of Merit will be presented at a dedicated AIPH World Green City Awards ceremony on 14th October 2022 at the IUCN Leaders Forum in the Special Self- Governing Province of Jeju, Republic of Korea. The Certificates of Merit will be awarded alongside the category winners and overall AIPH World Green City winner. You can read more here.

“The outstanding nature-based projects that are featured in these awards are so inspiring, each unique and ground-breaking in their own way within their local contexts. They are indicative of the many ways in which we can and need to embrace and nurture nature in an urban context. These entries should serve as a collective urgent inspiration to action for cities around the world, showing us so many different ways in which we are all connected and deeply dependent on nature for our health, wellbeing, and indeed for the quality of life and the very survival of people and indeed of biodiversity itself”- Ms. Kobie Brand, Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI and Regional Director of ICLEI Africa and Member of the Jury.

To stay informed of upcoming announcements, AIPH invites you to subscribe to the AIPH Global Green City Update here. AIPH also invites you to join the AIPH Global Green City Forum, where the six case studies from cities receiving Certificates of Merit can be viewed and where you can share resources and ideas, join key discussions, and be inspired to shape a greener urban future.

Follow AIPH on: LinkedIn @AIPH; Facebook: @theAIPH; Twitter @AIPHglobal; Instagram: @aiphglobal

AIPH is grateful to the network of partners for their ongoing support for the AIPH World Green City Awards – Biophilic Cities, Cities & Health, CitiesWithNature, European Federation of Green Roof & Green Wall Associations (EFB), The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF), Greener Spaces Better Places, #NatureForAll, Salzburg Global Seminar, The Nature of Cities (TNoC), Trees for Cities, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), Urban Biodiversity Hub (UBHub), World Urban Parks, Youth Climate Leaders, and 8 80 Cities. Thank you also to sponsor Expo 2021 Hatay and media partners Cities Today, FloraCulture International, and Host City.