Organiser
Congress Partner
AIPH Youth Award Partner
Media Partner
Media Partner
Celebrating real projects with measurable impact.
Cities across the world face increasing pressures: rising temperatures, extreme weather events, population growth, declining biodiversity, and growing demands on public health systems. Plants are not decorative additions to urban life. They are living infrastructure.
Organised by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), and held every two years since 2022, the AIPH World Green City Awards recognise cities that place plants and horticulture at the heart of urban development. The Awards celebrate measurable outcomes in resilience, health, biodiversity, climate adaptation, and liveability - demonstrating how plant-led approaches deliver practical solutions to shared urban challenges. Previous Grand Winners were Hyderabad (India) 2022 and Chengdu (China) 2024.
The 2026 Awards Ceremony will be held alongside the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) World Congress in Hong Kong on 29th October 2026 - bringing together more than 1,500 urban professionals from 80 nations for a high-level international celebration of leadership, innovation, and achievement.
What to Expect
A global stage for urban greening Discover inspiring city greening initiatives from across the world, each presenting real, evidence-led solutions grounded in horticulture.
Celebrating excellence The Awards Ceremony recognises innovation, long-term vision, and measurable impact, showcasing projects that are already influencing policy and practice worldwide.
Connection and collaboration Meet peers, partners, and organisations working across the urban greening landscape. This is more than an awards evening. It is a meeting point for ideas, partnerships, and progress.
"Hosting the AIPH World Green City Awards 2026 alongside the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) World Congress in Hong Kong represents a profound alignment of our shared global missions. By bringing together the world’s most innovative green cities with leading landscape architects, we are cultivating a vital interdisciplinary approach to built environment challenges. This collaboration underscores that Nature-based Solutions and climate-resilient urban design are no longer optional, but essential for the future of our urban landscapes.”
- Bruno Marques, President, IFLA
“The success of the cities that enter the AIPH World Green City Awards is made possible by the exceptional talent of many urban professionals supported by visionary city leadership. This event in Hong Kong brings people together and celebrates the conversations and connections that will shape the future of our urban space."
- Audrey Timm, Technical Initiatives Manager, AIPH
Why it matters
The AIPH World Green City Awards highlight a clear message: plants are not an added feature - they are essential infrastructure.
By recognising cities that lead in this space, the Awards help:
- Share proven approaches that can be adapted globally
- Build confidence in Nature-based Solutions
- Strengthen collaboration across sectors
- Inspire the next generation of urban greening projects
“The city’s benefited greatly from being a recipient of the award. It’s an acknowledgement of all the work that the city’s done. It’s helped raise our profile and supported when we applied for grant funding. We’ve gained an enormous amount through the recognition.”
Danielle Bowler, Environmental Development Coordinator, City of Joondalup, Australia – 2024 Winner in the ‘Living Green for Water’ category and AIPH Youth Award
The City of Joondalup receiving its award.
Discover more
Finalists
Twenty-one inspiring city greening initiatives have been selected as Finalists. Each city demonstrates the transformative power of plants in solving some of the most pressing urban challenges – from extreme heat and flooding to food security, biodiversity loss and public health.
