Jameel C40 Students Reinventing Cities Challenge won by all-female team from Egypt
The 2025 Jameel C40 Students Reinventing Cities Challenge, a competition for young innovators to design a sustainable, inclusive and climate-responsive urban masterplan for the Southern Gate area of Amman, Jordan, has been won by Urban Purifiers, a team from Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt.
Selected from more than 170 students in 31 teams from universities in Egypt, Italy and Jordan, the nine-person, all-female Urban Purifiers team approached the competition as a chance to tackle real urban challenges while building their skills as future architects and designers.
Transforming urban planning for climate action
The competition was presented by the Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Labs, a collaboration between Community Jameel and C40 Cities to support the integration of climate action in urban planning in Chennai, India, and Amman.
Located in the south of the city, Amman Southern Gate is part of the new urban planning strategy currently developed by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the city's Jameel C40 Urban Planning Climate Lab.
Dynamic eco-pedestrian network
Competing student teams were tasked with developing a 10-page plan for transforming the area into a vibrant, green neighbourhood that prioritises a high-quality of life for all by creating a sustainable, inclusive, and economically viable urban space.
The winning design from Urban Purifiers proposed a dynamic eco-pedestrian network to reshape mobility in Amman through bioswales, rain gardens, wetlands and urban forests.
These features were designed to reduce urban heat, improve air quality, manage stormwater and create healthier public spaces.
Urban Purifiers said: “We wanted to create solutions that improve peoples’ lives,” emphasising how working together in a group of nine taught them that “collaboration creates stronger, more inclusive outcomes.”
The team members were: Sama Abdelghany, Merna Amin, Clara Ishak, Sara Osman, Jolie Olwy, Mariam Ezzat, Donia Mostafa, Merna Gamal and Catrin Ishak.
Celebrated in Jordan, part of a global challenge
The team was honoured at an awards ceremony held in Amman, in collaboration with GAM and under the patronage of Yousef Shawarbeh, mayor of Amman.
The Jameel C40 Students Reinventing Cities Challenge is part of C40’s global design challenge, Students Reinventing Cities, which this year comprised 10 participating cities in addition to Amman: Barcelona, Freetown, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Lisbon, Milan, Quito, Rome and Tshwane.
Winner and special mentions
Winner
- Urban Purifiers (Helwan University, Egypt)
Special mentions
- University (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy)
- Future Builders (University of Petra, Jordan)
- Atelier 19 (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy)
- NextGen Amman Pioneers (Applied Science Private University, Jordan)
- URBANISTS (Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan)
- HARU (University of Petra, Jordan)
- Visionary Grid (Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan)
- Sustainable Vision (University of Petra, Jordan)