Sustainable Cities Challenge Varanasi [Open to All; Funding Worth Rs. 20 Crore+]: Submit by September 5

Sustainable Cities Challenge, hosted by the Toyota Mobility Foundation, invites innovators worldwide to develop data-driven solutions aimed at making Varanasi safer. The deadline for submission is September 5, 2024 6:30 pm IST.

The ancient city of Varanasi, known for its religious significance and cultural heritage, is seeking innovative solutions to manage the crowd flow in its old city of Kashi. The Sustainable Cities Challenge, hosted by the Toyota Mobility Foundation, invites innovators worldwide to develop data-driven solutions aimed at making Varanasi safer and more accessible for residents, religious tourists, and vulnerable populations.

Create innovative, data-driven solutions that make crowded areas of Varanasi’s old city of Kashi safer and more accessible for religious tourists, local residents and vulnerable populations (such as elderly people and people with disabilities).

Successful solutions might include: 

Sustainable Cities Challenge Varanasi is supporting innovators to develop solutions by providing:  

All funding must be used to develop, test, demonstrate, and implement solutions in the City of Varanasi. 

The City of Varanasi is located in Northern India along the Ganges River. It is thought to be one of the oldest cities in the world and is an incredibly important pilgrimage site. Large volumes of people visit Varanasi’s old city (Kashi) every year for pilgrimage, end of life traditions, and other religious and cultural activities. In 2022, the annual floating population was estimated to be 35 times the local population. 

The old city comprises narrow, winding lanes, making it difficult to build infrastructure to accommodate the influx of people. A growing number of private vehicles are used to navigate these lanes, which contributes to a complex environment prone to crowding. Varanasi seeks to attract pioneering solutions that will enable more effective crowd management, and in doing so position the city as a global success story.

Entries that do not meet the below criteria are not eligible for the Challenge.

The judging criteria will be used to evaluate the suitability of an entry for the Challenge and its potential for impact.

Before completing your entry form, make sure that you:

Interested participants can register through this link.

The deadline for entries is 6:30 pm IST / 13:00 UTC on Thursday 5 September 2024.

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