The Future City Competition is a program of DiscoverE, a nonprofit dedicated to providing global resources, programs, and connections between K-12 students and engineers and STEM professionals.

Open to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students around the world, the Future City Competition starts with a question – how can we make the world a better place?

The 32nd annual Future City Competition was held from September 2023 through February 2024. This year’s Future City challenge was to design a 100% electrically powered city with energy generated from sources that keep their citizens and the environment healthy and safe.

Teams are responsible for producing five deliverables including:

• A Project Plan – where students complete a four-part plan to help them organize their project,
• A City Essay – in which teams have 1,500 words to describe their futuristic city and solutions to the Climate Change challenge,
• A City Model – with only a $100 budget, teams creatively repurpose recycled materials to build a scale model of their city,
• A City Presentation and Q&A session– where teams have up to seven minutes to present their city.

Competition finals of nationwide regional winners were held during Engineer’s week - February 18 to 20, 2024. Three teams from China were represented in the finals.

Of more than 45,000 Future City participants:

• 48% of participants are girls.
• 39% of participating students are from underrepresented populations.
• 43% of participating schools are Title I schools.

On Sunday, February 18, competing teams were judges from STEM and industry partners, including ASLA members Chloe Gillespie, Associate ASLA; Joseph Imamura, ASLA; and Kal Almo, ASLA.

Left to right: Joseph Imamura, ASLA, Chloe Gillespie, ASLA and Kal Almo, ASLA. / Lisa J. Jennings

On Tuesday, February 21, competing teams were joined by over 1,000 family members, teams, and special guests to watch the festive annual awards ceremony in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill.

The Future City Awards at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C. / Lisa J. Jennings

As the first and only design group represented in the STEM competition, the ASLA Special Award for Nature-Powered Solutions for Design and Equity went to the Glen Hills Middle School in Glendale, Wisconsin. The team of 14 members won for their creative and futuristic design of their future city called Nova Potentia (Alaska).

Glen Hills Middle School Team / Lisa J. Jennings

Watch the full award show. The ASLA Special Award announcement starts at 47:01.

For questions about ASLA’s sponsorship of the Future City Competition or how you can become a mentor to a team, contact Lisa J. Jennings, Senior Manager, Career Discovery and Diversity at ljennings@asla.org.

2024 Future City Nature-Powered Solutions for Design and Equity Award, sponsored by ASLA.