ICLEI Member Katowice (Poland) was announced yesterday as the winner of the 2020 Transformative Action Award at an award ceremony which took place online during the 9th European conference on sustainable cities and towns.

The award, which is organised by ICLEI, the City of Aalborg and the Basque Country, with support from the European Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank, recognises “Transformative Actions” that make use of the 15 pathways outlined in the Basque Declaration to achieve the socio-cultural, socio-economic and technological transformation needed to forge a more sustainable society.

They highlight the critical role that cities play in reaching global goals such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Paris Climate Agreement.

Katowice won the award for using apps and campaigns to encourage residents to help make the city more sustainable. One such app enables residents to suggest places for new trees to be planted, while another allows residents to identify problems – ranging from the need for new traffic signs, to sidewalk maintenance – they would like the city to address.

Through their work, the city has planted more than 600 trees, repaired 11,000 infrastructural defects across the city, sowed 20,000m2 of meadows, and cleaned 30ha of public space, collecting 15 containers of rubbish.

Accepting the prize, and a cheque for 10,000 EUR to kick-start further environmental projects in his city, Deputy Mayor of Katowice, Mariusz Skiba thanked the citizens of Katowice, saying “our residents are the best city ambassadors.”

For more information about the Transformative Action Award, click here.