Polis: Lessons from European Public Space Award

The POLIS Exhibition is a showcase of outstanding public-space projects drawn from the archives of the European Prize for Urban Public Space. It shines a spotlight on innovative urban designs and interventions that address globally shared challenges in contemporary city life, offering creative solutions that contribute to more democratic, inclusive, and livable cities.

At Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, the exhibition is presented as a collaborative cultural event co-organized by XJTLU, Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre (CCCB), the ROCA Shanghai Gallery, and Tongji University, with the collaboration of the Instituto Cervantes (Shanghai). This partnership bridges European and Chinese perspectives on architecture and urbanism, fostering meaningful exchanges about the future of public space.

The European Prize for Urban Public Space, organized by the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre (CCCB) since 2000, is a biennial award that celebrates the best projects in the creation, transformation, and recovery of public spaces across Europe. These projects serve as a mirror of our health and reflect how urban environments can adapt to social, political, and environmental shifts.

The exhibition titled “Polis: Lessons from the European Prize for Urban Public Space”, created in 2014, draws together insights from over a decade of prize-winning entries. The showcased works are thematically grouped under eight core lessons that have emerged from the evolving fabric of European urbanism. These lessons underscore the transformative power of public space and reaffirm its role as a critical stage where the civic, cultural, and political life of cities is negotiated—true to the ancient Greek idea of the polis as a space for shared public life.