The Knight Cities Challenge, now in its second year, has selected its finalists, and 12 of the 158 names announced on January 12 originated from Miami.
The 158 finalists were chosen from 4,500 applicants. In the spring, winners will be announced and grants from a pool of $5m awarded.
One of last year’s winning projects, The Miami Science Barge, is under construction and will open sometime in 2016. Brochure printers could be utilized by the floating education center so that visitors can take the barge’s message of marine life and sustainability home with them.
The John S and James L. Knight Foundation hosts the Knight Cities Challenge to encourage innovators to come up with ideas for civic improvement at the city, neighborhood, or even the block level. Ideas can come from anyone in the country but must be designed for implementation in one of the 26 cities where the Knight Brothers were at one time newspaper owners, of which Miami is one.
Anyone can apply to the Knight Cities Challenge, regardless of whether they are an activist, architect, artist, designer, hacker, planning professional or none of the above. Ideally, the competition will evoke ideas focusing on one or more of three factors in a city’s success: attracting talented people, creating a culture that encourages civic participation, or expanding economic opportunities.
