New Urban Champions

September 16, 2022 — Projects & Programs

New Urban Champions is an initiative created to showcase the most successful, but less frequently told stories of collaboration, growth, and problem-solving happening in cities that deserve a greater share of the spotlight.

New Urban Champions brings cities together to showcase successes, problem-solve challenges, and collaborate on potential solutions. Our aim is to build a “cohort” of New Urban Champions and create a space for meaningful discussions and collaboration, establishing a network of city movers and shakers that will serve as models for others. To do so, we carry out Learning Expeditions. Those expeditions bring together 30 to 35 participants to a host city, showcasing its challenges and solutions for a 2-day immersive program created by NewCities and curated partners.

Upcoming Edition
2023 Learning Expedition

Florence, Italy


Our third edition will take place on February 9-10, 2023 in Florence.

More information coming soon!

Please reach out to salome.gueidon@newcities.org for more information.

Second Edition
2020 Virtual Edition

St. Louis, Missouri


For this second edition, NewCities teams up with the St. Louis Development Corporation to present St. Louis, Missouri as a New Urban Champion.

This issue is a voice-driven editorial sparking those tough conversations and opening the floor to honest dialogue; telling the story of St. Louis through the narratives of some of its most inspiring community leaders.

First Edition
2019 Learning Expedition

Columbus, Ohio


Our first edition took place in Columbus in October 2018 in partnership with ENGIE.

After winning the first-ever U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Smart City Challenge” in 2016, Columbus has emerged as a model Smart City.

City officials attribute their successes to strong collaboration across sectors. We spent two days showcasing successful public-private partnerships, featuring innovative smart city advancements, and detailed how an university campus connects to its urban ecosystem.