Divyank Kushagra Bansal 
Venice (Italy), Detroit (USA) and Varanasi (India) have been selected to host innovation challenges as part of the Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Sustainable Cities Challenge (SCC). The goal of the $9 million global initiative is to help cities accelerate toward sustainable mobility, fostering healthier and safer urban environments while enhancing people’s ability to commute, work, study, and access services. In total, over 150 cities from 46 countries had entered the challenge starting from June 2023. The three final cities were chosen from a shortlist of 10 cities announced in November 2023.
The three City Challenges will be launched for innovator entry over the next two months, inviting global innovators to access a share of $3 million in funding per city to demonstrate their solutions. They will focus on different areas of sustainable mobility relevant to their specific context, spanning the expansion of access to safe, affordable, and inclusive modes of transportation.
“I wish to thank the Toyota Mobility Foundation for choosing Venice: it is recognition of the path we have taken to make the city’s mobility increasingly sustainable, in a complex territory where water and land are integrated, with a plurality of different means of transport. Participating in this international-level Challenge will allow us to enhance the actions already put in place, such as the significant extension of the bike lane network, implementing hydrogen and electric local public transport, introducing bike-sharing and car-sharing services, setting up the “smart control room” for more orderly flow management, as well as offering new stimuli on how citizens, with their behaviour, can be protagonists of this change.” – Morris Ceron, Director General at the City of Venice. The Venice City Challenge will launch on Tuesday, 11th June 2024.
“We’re excited and honoured to be one of just three cities in the world selected for the Sustainable Cities Challenge. As the only city chosen in the western hemisphere, Detroit represents over one hundred years of world-renowned innovations in transportation. As Detroit continues to grow, we want to learn how to address the ways that freight and industry can be more sustainable, while also supporting the economy in thriving areas such as our Eastern Market – especially in very cold conditions.” – Tim Slusser, Chief of the City of Detroit’s Office of Mobility Innovation. The Detroit City Challenge will launch on Wednesday, 29th May 2024, seeking solutions that reduce fossil fuel use and cut costs of freight operations in the Eastern Market, by increasing efficiencies and unlocking opportunities for clean freight technologies.
“Participating in the Toyota Mobility Foundation’s Sustainable Cities Challenge presents an exciting prospect for Varanasi. This initiative offers us a valuable chance to explore technical and design-related avenues for enhancing mobility within our city, benefiting both our residents and the growing influx of tourists. By collaborating with innovative minds, we aim to bolster Varanasi’s reputation as a premier global tourist destination. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to work closely with TMF, their partners, and experts to achieve this goal.” – Akshat Verma, IAS, Municipal Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer, Varanasi Municipal Corporation/Varanasi Smart City. The Varanasi City Challenge will launch in late June 2024, to generate data-driven solutions incorporating elements of technology and design that make crowded areas of Varanasi’s old city (Kashi) safer and more accessible for religious tourists and residents alike.
The Sustainable Cities Challenge is funded by the Toyota Mobility Foundation and has been designed in partnership with Challenge Works and the World Resources Institute.
