CITY PRIZE
The Leventhal City Prize seeks to catalyze innovative urban design and planning approaches that will improve the environment and quality of life for communities.
The Leventhal City Prize seeks to catalyze innovative urban design and planning approaches that will improve the environment and quality of life for communities.
The Leventhal City Prize seeks to catalyze innovative urban design and planning approaches that will improve the environment and quality of life for communities.
THE 2025 PRIZE WINNER:
Eume Energy Basin
Video by Atomic Clock
Boston map courtesy of Leventhal Map & Education Center. Photo of Norman Leventhal courtesy of MIT Museum. Photo of Post Office Square Courtesy of NewtonCourt. Photos and footage of Eume Basin by Luis Díaz Díaz
Project
Eume Energy Basin explores how the architecture of energy can work in synergy with the territory. The work proposes that energy harvesting can become a tool for bridging community development and ecological care. The design seeks a balance between energy production, biodiversity, social equity, and urban needs, exploring this possibility in an area deeply affected by the challenges and opportunities associated with energy transitions: the Eume River Basin (Galicia, Spain), and specifically in its main municipality, As Pontes.
The Eume Energy Basin project begins by tackling the full scale of this Energy Environment. The initial outcome is an ecological and energetic Territorial Framework for the area—the first of its kind in Spain. Second, the project will implement three Hyper-Local Strategies for Energy Transition within this energy environment. These strategies will complement the territorial framework through architectural and infrastructural interventions that harness renewable energy as a tool for social, economic, and ecological revitalization.
Mouth of the Eume River, set within a peat landscape now dotted with windmills.
Preliminary concept for the Eume River Energy Framework.
Mouth of the Eume River, set within a peat landscape now dotted with windmills.
Preliminary concept for the Eume River Energy Framework.
Mouth of the Eume River, set within a peat landscape now dotted with windmills.
Preliminary concept for the Eume River Energy Framework.
Mouth of the Eume River, set within a peat landscape now dotted with windmills.
Preliminary concept for the Eume River Energy Framework.
Project
Eume Energy Basin explores how the architecture of energy can work in synergy with the territory. The work proposes that energy harvesting can become a tool for bridging community development and ecological care. The design seeks a balance between energy production, biodiversity, social equity, and urban needs, exploring this possibility in an area deeply affected by the challenges and opportunities associated with energy transitions: the Eume River Basin (Galicia, Spain), and specifically in its main municipality, As Pontes.
The Eume Energy Basin project begins by tackling the full scale of this Energy Environment. The initial outcome is an ecological and energetic Territorial Framework for the area—the first of its kind in Spain. Second, the project will implement three Hyper-Local Strategies for Energy Transition within this energy environment. These strategies will complement the territorial framework through architectural and infrastructural interventions that harness renewable energy as a tool for social, economic, and ecological revitalization.
Roi Salgueiro Barrio
Principal Investigator
Stefano Ciurlo
Principal, Estar
Aurora Armental
Principal, Estar
Manuel Rodríguez
Director, Fundación RIA
Adrián Capelo
Fundación RIA
Alfonso Beltrán
Fundación RIA
Lucía Escrigas
Fundación RIA
Roi Salgueiro Barrio
Principal Investigator
Stefano Ciurlo
Principal, Estar
Aurora Armental
Principal, Estar
Manuel Rodríguez
Director, Fundación RIA
Adrián Capelo
Fundación RIA
Alfonso Beltrán
Fundación RIA
Lucía Escrigas
Fundación RIA
Team
Led by Roi Salgueiro Barrio, Principal Investigator, the Eume River Basin project will be developed by a transdisciplinary team of architects, urbanists, landscape architects, and photographers. Aurora Armental and Stefano Armental, principals of Estar, an architecture and landscape architecture practice based in Santiago de Compostela, will play key roles in the research and design phases of the project. Luis Díaz Díaz, one of Spain’s most renowned architectural photographers and a civil engineer specializing in territorial management, will contribute to researching, understanding, and visualizing the project’s diverse landscapes.
The work will be carried out in collaboration with Fundación RIA, an initiative founded by Pritzker Prize winner David Chipperfield, which aims to promote a new culture of territorial design in Galicia. Manuel Rodríguez (Director, RIA), Alfonso Beltrán, Adrián Capelo, and Lucía Escrigas will help coordinate relationships with local stakeholders.
Finally, the team will conduct their work in close collaboration with the Government of A Coruña Province and the Municipality of As Pontes, represented by Councilwoman Elena Seco
Team
Led by Roi Salgueiro Barrio, Principal Investigator, the Eume River Basin project will be developed by a transdisciplinary team of architects, urbanists, landscape architects, and photographers. Aurora Armental and Stefano Armental, principals of Estar, an architecture and landscape architecture practice based in Santiago de Compostela, will play key roles in the research and design phases of the project. Luis Díaz Díaz, one of Spain’s most renowned architectural photographers and a civil engineer specializing in territorial management, will contribute to researching, understanding, and visualizing the project’s diverse landscapes.
The work will be carried out in collaboration with Fundación RIA, an initiative founded by Pritzker Prize winner David Chipperfield, which aims to promote a new culture of territorial design in Galicia. Manuel Rodríguez (Director, RIA), Alfonso Beltrán, Adrián Capelo, and Lucía Escrigas will help coordinate relationships with local stakeholders.
Finally, the team will conduct their work in close collaboration with the Government of A Coruña Province and the Municipality of As Pontes, represented by Councilwoman Elena Seco
Roi Salgueiro Barrio
Principal Investigator
Stefano Ciurlo
Principal, Estar
Aurora Armental
Principal, Estar
Manuel Rodríguez
Director, Fundación RIA
Adrián Capelo
Fundación RIA
Alfonso Beltrán
Fundación RIA
Lucía Escrigas
Fundación RIA
Roi Salgueiro Barrio
Principal Investigator
Stefano Ciurlo
Principal, Estar
Aurora Armental
Principal, Estar
Manuel Rodríguez
Director, Fundación RIA
Adrián Capelo
Fundación RIA
Alfonso Beltrán
Fundación RIA
Lucía Escrigas
Fundación RIA
THE 2022 PRIZE WINNER:
Drawing Together
Project
Drawing Together asks how computing can place participation, diversity, and equity at the center of workforce development and urban design practice. In partnership with Green City Force (GCF), an AmeriCorps program serving young adults from New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) communities, the team proposed developing computational methods for resilient urban design and collaborative software that integrates CAD, GIS, and co-design paradigms to scale up GCF’s Eco-Hub workforce development program.
After engaging with GCF and AmeriCorps members, the project team co-developed a series of focused and collaborative digital tools. These continue to be improved and co-developed as of 2025, and include:
- A Site Priority Index (SPI) quantifying conditions across socioeconomic status, food access, environmental health, and nature access—providing replicable methodology for equitable green space allocation.
- A Site Allocation Framework using Mixed Integer Programming to optimize Eco-Hub site selection across NYCHA’s 250+ developments, balancing local and global benefits while incorporating uncertainty through contingency scenarios.
- Open Sensing, a cost-effective environmental monitoring system combining self-powered networked sensors with open-source analysis software. The hardware, designed for assembly by AmeriCorps members without technical backgrounds, has been deployed in NYC, Monterrey, Boston, and Oakland, enabling communities to measure and communicate environmental conditions.
- Food for Thought, an accessible mobile-first recruitment application supporting GCF’s capacity to expand member training.
As well as being deployed in NYC and elsewhere, the work has resulted in diverse academic publications in computer science, urban policy, and the ethics of technology.
A Green City Force Corps member at work in one of GCF’s Eco-Hubs in NYCHA housing. The team developed a range of data-driven tools to extend and improve the Eco-Hub network, including low-cost sensors, planning software, and tools for recruitment and community engagement. These tools are now in use across multiple cities and organizations in North America.
A Green City Force Corps member at work in one of GCF’s Eco-Hubs in NYCHA housing. The team developed a range of data-driven tools to extend and improve the Eco-Hub network, including low-cost sensors, planning software, and tools for recruitment and community engagement. These tools are now in use across multiple cities and organizations in North America.
A Green City Force Corps member at work in one of GCF’s Eco-Hubs in NYCHA housing. The team developed a range of data-driven tools to extend and improve the Eco-Hub network, including low-cost sensors, planning software, and tools for recruitment and community engagement. These tools are now in use across multiple cities and organizations in North America.
A Green City Force Corps member at work in one of GCF’s Eco-Hubs in NYCHA housing. The team developed a range of data-driven tools to extend and improve the Eco-Hub network, including low-cost sensors, planning software, and tools for recruitment and community engagement. These tools are now in use across multiple cities and organizations in North America.
Project
Drawing Together asks how computing can place participation, diversity, and equity at the center of workforce development and urban design practice. In partnership with Green City Force (GCF), an AmeriCorps program serving young adults from New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) communities, the team proposed developing computational methods for resilient urban design and collaborative software that integrates CAD, GIS, and co-design paradigms to scale up GCF’s Eco-Hub workforce development program.
After engaging with GCF and AmeriCorps members, the project team co-developed a series of focused and collaborative digital tools. These continue to be improved and co-developed as of 2025, and include:
- A Site Priority Index (SPI) quantifying conditions across socioeconomic status, food access, environmental health, and nature access—providing replicable methodology for equitable green space allocation.
- A Site Allocation Framework using Mixed Integer Programming to optimize Eco-Hub site selection across NYCHA’s 250+ developments, balancing local and global benefits while incorporating uncertainty through contingency scenarios.
- Open Sensing, a cost-effective environmental monitoring system combining self-powered networked sensors with open-source analysis software. The hardware, designed for assembly by AmeriCorps members without technical backgrounds, has been deployed in NYC, Monterrey, Boston, and Oakland, enabling communities to measure and communicate environmental conditions.
- Food for Thought, an accessible mobile-first recruitment application supporting GCF’s capacity to expand member training.
As well as being deployed in NYC and elsewhere, the work has resulted in diverse academic publications in computer science, urban policy, and the ethics of technology.
Nicholas de Monchaux,
Professor of Architecture and Planning at MIT
Miho Mazereeuw
Associate Professor, Associate Head for Strategy and Community
MIT Architecture
Carlos Sandoval Olascoaga, Assistant Professor of
Human-Computer Interaction at Northeastern University
Tonya Gayle,
Executive Director of Green City Force and board member of The Corps Network and Environmental Advocates of NY
Nicholas de Monchaux,
Professor of Architecture and Planning at MIT
Miho Mazereeuw
Associate Professor, Associate Head for Strategy and Community
MIT Architecture
Carlos Sandoval Olascoaga, Assistant Professor of
Human-Computer Interaction at Northeastern University
Tonya Gayle,
Executive Director of Green City Force and board member of The Corps Network and Environmental Advocates of NY
Team
The Drawing Together team combines expertise in architecture, computing, inclusive design, and community development. Nicholas de Monchaux, Professor of Architecture and Planning at MIT, leads alongside Carlos Sandoval Olascoaga, Assistant Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at Northeastern University. Miho Mazereeuw brings expertise in resilience, site planning, and community engagement. Tonya Gayle, Executive Director of Green City Force and board member of The Corps Network and Environmental Advocates of NY, provides leadership in environmental and economic justice.
The larger team includes MIT researchers Reid Kovacs, Leonard Schrage, Calvin Zhong, Katelyn McVay, Felipe Cordera Urrutia, and Lillian Chin, along with GCF staff Annel Cabrera-Marus, Erin Johnson, Precious Colon, and Hakim Jeffrey, combining technical innovation with deeply-rooted community engagement.
Team
The Drawing Together team combines expertise in architecture, computing, inclusive design, and community development. Nicholas de Monchaux, Professor of Architecture and Planning at MIT, leads alongside Carlos Sandoval Olascoaga, Assistant Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at Northeastern University. Miho Mazereeuw brings expertise in resilience, site planning, and community engagement. Tonya Gayle, Executive Director of Green City Force and board member of The Corps Network and Environmental Advocates of NY, provides leadership in environmental and economic justice.
The larger team includes MIT researchers Reid Kovacs, Leonard Schrage, Calvin Zhong, Katelyn McVay, Felipe Cordera Urrutia, and Lillian Chin, along with GCF staff Annel Cabrera-Marus, Erin Johnson, Precious Colon, and Hakim Jeffrey, combining technical innovation with deeply-rooted community engagement.
Nicholas de Monchaux,
Professor of Architecture and Planning at MIT
Miho Mazereeuw
Associate Professor, Associate Head for Strategy and Community
MIT Architecture
Carlos Sandoval Olascoaga, Assistant Professor of
Human-Computer Interaction at Northeastern University
Tonya Gayle,
Executive Director of Green City Force and board member of The Corps Network and Environmental Advocates of NY
Nicholas de Monchaux,
Professor of Architecture and Planning at MIT
Miho Mazereeuw
Associate Professor, Associate Head for Strategy and Community
MIT Architecture
Carlos Sandoval Olascoaga, Assistant Professor of
Human-Computer Interaction at Northeastern University
Tonya Gayle,
Executive Director of Green City Force and board member of The Corps Network and Environmental Advocates of NY
THE 2019 PRIZE WINNER:
Malden River Works
Project
Malden River Works (MRW) brings together a new coalition of community leaders of color, environmental advocates, and government stakeholders to adapt public infrastructure for climate change while creating the first-ever public park on the Malden River, a historically industrial area that has left almost no river access to residents for generations.
The project focuses on three main goals:
- Build a leadership coalition among Malden’s communities of color through the MRW Steering Committee.
- Create a ‘both-and’ model for development that resists green gentrification by creating a new climate-resilient park while also maintaining existing industrial uses.
- Increase climate resilience by upgrading the Department of Public Works (DPW), the City’s second responder for disaster recovery in climate change.
Since being awarded the Leventhal City Prize in 2019, thousands of Malden residents have contributed to the project vision and participated in cultural celebrations on the Malden River in anticipation of the new public park. The project has raised over $13 million in funding from federal, state, local, and private grants for design, permitting, and construction, with the first major phase of the transformation to be completed in the summer of 2026.
Construction progress in the fall of 2025 showing the emergence of a rain garden that will use plants to filter and treat drainage from the DPW yard.
The riverfront encircles the Department of Public Works yard with publicly accessible open space and pathways that bring cooling shade trees, a restored riverfront ecology, waterfront gathering spaces, and a new community boat house to support paddling on the river.
Construction progress in the fall of 2025 showing the emergence of a rain garden that will use plants to filter and treat drainage from the DPW yard.
The riverfront encircles the Department of Public Works yard with publicly accessible open space and pathways that bring cooling shade trees, a restored riverfront ecology, waterfront gathering spaces, and a new community boat house to support paddling on the river.
Construction progress in the fall of 2025 showing the emergence of a rain garden that will use plants to filter and treat drainage from the DPW yard.
The riverfront encircles the Department of Public Works yard with publicly accessible open space and pathways that bring cooling shade trees, a restored riverfront ecology, waterfront gathering spaces, and a new community boat house to support paddling on the river.
Construction progress in the fall of 2025 showing the emergence of a rain garden that will use plants to filter and treat drainage from the DPW yard.
The riverfront encircles the Department of Public Works yard with publicly accessible open space and pathways that bring cooling shade trees, a restored riverfront ecology, waterfront gathering spaces, and a new community boat house to support paddling on the river.
Project
Malden River Works (MRW) brings together a new coalition of community leaders of color, environmental advocates, and government stakeholders to adapt public infrastructure for climate change while creating the first-ever public park on the Malden River, a historically industrial area that has left almost no river access to residents for generations.
The project focuses on three main goals:
- Build a leadership coalition among Malden’s communities of color through the MRW Steering Committee.
- Create a ‘both-and’ model for development that resists green gentrification by creating a new climate-resilient park while also maintaining existing industrial uses.
- Increase climate resilience by upgrading the Department of Public Works (DPW), the City’s second responder for disaster recovery in climate change.
Since being awarded the Leventhal City Prize in 2019, thousands of Malden residents have contributed to the project vision and participated in cultural celebrations on the Malden River in anticipation of the new public park. The project has raised over $13 million in funding from federal, state, local, and private grants for design, permitting, and construction, with the first major phase of the transformation to be completed in the summer of 2026.
Marie Law Adams
Landing Studio, Design Lead
Kathy Vandiver
Principal Investigator,
Leventhal City Prize
Marcia Manong
Steering Committee Chairperson
Karen Buck
Friends of Malden River
Bekah McPheeters
City of Malden
Evan Spetrini
City of Malden
(former)
Karl Alexander
Mystic River Watershed Association
Marissa Zampino
Mystic River Watershed Association
Amber Christoffersen
Mystic River Watershed Association (former)
Marie Law Adams
Landing Studio, Design Lead
Kathy Vandiver
Principal Investigator,
Leventhal City Prize
Marcia Manong
Steering Committee Chairperson
Karen Buck
Friends of Malden River
Bekah McPheeters
City of Malden
Evan Spetrini
City of Malden
(former)
Karl Alexander
Mystic River Watershed Association
Marissa Zampino
Mystic River Watershed Association
Amber Christoffersen
Mystic River Watershed Association (former)
Team
Malden River Works’s two-part team structure was designed to promote equity by centering leadership from Malden’s communities of color:
The MRW Steering Committee is made up of BIPOC resident leaders working alongside environmental and government partners to set project values and goals, engage with Malden’s diverse communities, and monitor project outcomes.
In 2019, following on work with local advocates to promote Malden River water quality and access, Kathy Vandiver (MIT CEHS) brought together the original Leventhal City Prize Project Team of Marcia Manong (Malden community leader), Marie Adams (public realm designer), Karen Buck (Friends of the Malden River), Amber Christoffersen (Greenways Planner, Mystic River Watershed Association), and Evan Spetrini (City of Malden Planner). The MRW Project Team carries out the project’s work, from community outreach to design and construction.
Current Malden River Works Steering Committee members: Marcia Manong (chairperson), Souad Akib, Carlos Aragon, Karen Buck (Friends of the Malden River), Karen Colón Hayes (Malden City Councilor-At-Large), Linda Cline, Emmanuel Marsh, Rebekah McPheeters (City of Malden), Ramon Norales, Erga Pierrette, Caroline Santos
Current Malden River Works Project Team:
Marie Law Adams (Landing Studio, design lead), Karl Alexander (Mystic River Watershed Association), Karen Buck (FoMR), Marcia Manong (SC chairperson), Rebekah McPheeters (City of Malden), Kathy Vandiver (Principal Investigator, Leventhal City Prize), Marissa Zampino (MyRWA)
Team
Malden River Works’s two-part team structure was designed to promote equity by centering leadership from Malden’s communities of color:
The MRW Steering Committee is made up of BIPOC resident leaders working alongside environmental and government partners to set project values and goals, engage with Malden’s diverse communities, and monitor project outcomes.
In 2019, following on work with local advocates to promote Malden River water quality and access, Kathy Vandiver (MIT CEHS) brought together the original Leventhal City Prize Project Team of Marcia Manong (Malden community leader), Marie Adams (public realm designer), Karen Buck (Friends of the Malden River), Amber Christoffersen (Greenways Planner, Mystic River Watershed Association), and Evan Spetrini (City of Malden Planner). The MRW Project Team carries out the project’s work, from community outreach to design and construction.
Current Malden River Works Steering Committee members: Marcia Manong (chairperson), Souad Akib, Carlos Aragon, Karen Buck (Friends of the Malden River), Karen Colón Hayes (Malden City Councilor-At-Large), Linda Cline, Emmanuel Marsh, Rebekah McPheeters (City of Malden), Ramon Norales, Erga Pierrette, Caroline Santos
Current Malden River Works Project Team:
Marie Law Adams (Landing Studio, design lead), Karl Alexander (Mystic River Watershed Association), Karen Buck (FoMR), Marcia Manong (SC chairperson), Rebekah McPheeters (City of Malden), Kathy Vandiver (Principal Investigator, Leventhal City Prize), Marissa Zampino (MyRWA)
Marie Law Adams
Landing Studio, Design Lead
Kathy Vandiver
Principal Investigator,
Leventhal City Prize
Marcia Manong
Steering Committee Chairperson
Karen Buck
Friends of Malden River
Bekah McPheeters
City of Malden
Evan Spetrini
City of Malden
(former)
Karl Alexander
Mystic River Watershed Association
Marissa Zampino
Mystic River Watershed Association
Amber Christoffersen
Mystic River Watershed Association (former)
Marie Law Adams
Landing Studio, Design Lead
Kathy Vandiver
Principal Investigator,
Leventhal City Prize
Marcia Manong
Steering Committee Chairperson
Karen Buck
Friends of Malden River
Bekah McPheeters
City of Malden
Evan Spetrini
City of Malden
(former)
Karl Alexander
Mystic River Watershed Association
Marissa Zampino
Mystic River Watershed Association
Amber Christoffersen
Mystic River Watershed Association (former)
ABOUT THE PRIZE
The Leventhal City Prize seeks to catalyze innovative urban design and planning approaches that will improve the environment and quality of life for communities.
Established in honor of Norman B. Leventhal, the prize recognizes the visionary developer and philanthropist whose contributions transformed Boston’s urban landscape. His civic leadership drove Boston’s urban revival, resulting in projects such as Rowes Wharf, Center Plaza, South Station, and One Post Office Square.
The prize is awarded on a three-year cycle to an interdisciplinary team of MIT faculty to work together with either a government agency, non-profit or civic leadership organization. The winning team must demonstrate the potential to improve the quality of life in cities through an innovative urban design and/or planning project, and be able to incorporate the collaborative project in future teaching and research at MIT. To implement their project, the winning team is awarded $100,000.
Image Courtesy MIT Museum
Image Courtesy MIT Museum
Image Courtesy MIT Museum
Image Courtesy MIT Museum
The Leventhal City Prize seeks to catalyze innovative urban design and planning approaches that will improve the environment and quality of life for communities.
Established in honor of Norman B. Leventhal, the prize recognizes the visionary developer and philanthropist whose contributions transformed Boston’s urban landscape. His civic leadership drove Boston’s urban revival, resulting in projects such as Rowes Wharf, Center Plaza, South Station, and One Post Office Square.
The prize is awarded on a three-year cycle to an interdisciplinary team of MIT faculty to work together with either a government agency, non-profit or civic leadership organization. The winning team must demonstrate the potential to improve the quality of life in cities through an innovative urban design and/or planning project, and be able to incorporate the collaborative project in future teaching and research at MIT. To implement their project, the winning team is awarded $100,000.
