Who is really changing Polish cities for the better? We will find out on September 23 during the New Mobility Congress 2025, when the Urban Innovator awards will be presented. The awards will go to public institutions and private investors implementing projects that make cities more sustainable, green and friendly to residents.
© Polish New Mobility Association
The Urban Innovator awards were created to recognize entities and individuals who are making a real difference in Polish cities. The award winners are selected by both the jury and city residents, who are the biggest beneficiaries of the implementation of innovative urban projects. Jury members are Filip Springer (reporter and photojournalist), Bogna Świątkowska (Fundacja Bęc Zmiana), Agata Wiśniewska-Mazur (PSNM - Polish New Mobility Association) and Jeffery McMillan (PwC CEE).
The Urban Innovator awards will be given in three categories
The Healthy Cities distinction will be awarded to urban centers that realistically support the health and quality of life of residents, take care of clean air, access to greenery, develop sustainable mobility and support the daily activities of local communities.
The New Urbanism category will reward rational and innovative approaches to space planning and sustainable urban development.
In turn, the Shared Space award will go to winners who co-create places with residents that foster meeting and integration. Spaces that enhance social and mental health and build a sense of community will be recognized.
Organizing comfortable and healthy urban living poses new and greater challenges. In the daily struggle to improve cities, we often forget how much we have already achieved in them. Because, after all, there is still so much to do. This is the point of such awards, prizes and plebiscites - thanks to them we can stop and look at what has already been accomplished. We need stories about good changes, we need examples of such changes, and that's also what prototyping solutions is all about - we see something working and want to replicate it elsewhere. In the Urban Innovator competition we recognize both public and private initiators of change. They face criticism, not always constructive, on a daily basis. Appreciation comes sometimes, and it happens never. We want to change that," says Filip Springer, curator of the Urban Innovation thematic track at KNM 2025 and representative of the competition jury.
A questionnaire for voting and a list of nominated projects with full descriptions are available at: https://forms.gle/9Vh2B61AKHVcao8M7
Projects nominated in the Urban Innovator competition
Healthy Cities category
-
Clean Transportation Zone in Krakow
-
Storm Action Park in Warsaw
-
Biała Podlaska - Bicycle Capital of Poland
-
Wrocław Urban Bicycle
-
Lower Oder Valley National Park
New Urbanism category
-
New Center of Poznan
-
The River Quarter in Rybnik
-
Opacka housing estate in Gdańsk (Invest Komfort)
-
Nowy Port in Bydgoszcz (AWZ Deweloper)
-
NaftNova in Sosnowiec
Common Space category
-
SadoMiasto in Zielona Gora
-
Grid Arthub - Gdańsk Shipyard
-
UrbanLab in Kielce
-
Freedom Square in Lodz
-
Neighborhood Center "Przystań Widna 2A" - Gdynia, Witomino
About the New Mobility Congress
The New Mobility Congress 2025 will be held September 23-25, 2025 at the International Congress Center in Katowice, Poland. This is the sixth edition of the event, which this year promises to be record-breaking in every respect: there will be more than 400 speakers on 10 stages as part of 250 program items. The EXPO zone will cover a space of 12,000 sqm.
The KNM 2025 program is based on six thematic tracks, addressing the key challenges of transport, energy, economic and urban transformation: Clean Transport, Urban Innovation, Sustainable Growth, Infrastructure & Investments, Climate Policy, Life Quality & Health. In addition, the New Mobility Congress will feature a series of side events, including the Bicycle Mobility Forum, the Automated and Autonomous Vehicles Forum, the New Mobility Security Forum, Urban Air Mobility Week, Driving Sustainable Aviation, and "Read the City to Me" author evenings.
The organizer of the New Mobility Congress is the Polish New Mobility Association (PSNM). The event is hosted by the Upper Silesian Metropolis and co-hosted by the City of Katowice.
