BARCELONA.- Twenty-five projects from across Europe have been shortlisted for the 2026 European Prize for Urban Public Space, reflecting a growing effort to rethink how cities respond to climate change, social inequality and the changing demands of mobility.

Organized by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, the prize received a record 381 submissions from 38 European countries this year. The selected projects come from 14 countries and include interventions in major cities such as Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Lisbon, Brussels, Vienna and Warsaw.

Rather than favoring a single type of architectural gesture, the shortlist brings together projects of widely different scales and ambitions. Some transform large transportation and industrial sites, while others make careful changes to historic settings, neighborhood squares or overlooked urban spaces. Across the selection, the jury identified a shared commitment to nature-based design, the reuse of existing structures and improved accessibility.

The international jury met on July 2 and 3 to choose the shortlisted projects. It was chaired by architect Eva Prats, co-director of the Barcelona studio Flores & Prats, and included Angelika Fitz, Monika Konrad, Inês Lobo, Bas Smets and Philip Ursprung. Lluís Ortega served as secretary.

According to the organizers, the jury considered not only the social impact of the projects but also their formal rigor, sensitivity to materials and spatial quality. Particular attention was given to interventions that fit coherently within their surroundings while offering practical responses to ecological restoration, climate pressures and social cohesion.

Reusing what cities already have

A prominent theme in this year’s selection is the conversion of existing buildings and infrastructure into new forms of public space.

Among the examples cited are a former military warehouse in Mannheim, Germany, and Porto’s historic market, both reimagined as civic assets capable of reactivating their urban surroundings. Other shortlisted projects transform transportation and industrial sites that once divided or dominated their cities.

These include former rail yards in Vienna and Paris, Barcelona’s Glòries intersection, parking areas on Antwerp’s old docks and Warsaw’s river port. A former industrial area in Køge, Denmark, has also been selected, along with an intervention at Vicenza’s former airport in Italy, which has been converted into an ecological park.

Together, the projects suggest a shift away from demolition and large-scale replacement. Instead, many of the shortlisted teams have worked with what was already present, adapting obsolete structures to new environmental and social purposes.





Public space as ecological repair

The shortlist also places strong emphasis on biodiversity and the recovery of abandoned or damaged landscapes.

Projects in Copenhagen, Split and the Spanish town of Berga restore neglected sites through interventions designed to support plant life, wildlife and public use. In Kyiv, a therapeutic garden has been created to support mental health and reintegration in a city affected by conflict.

Other selected projects focus on rivers, seasonal water systems and coastal landscapes. These include the revitalization of seasonal watercourses on the Greek island of Ios, the restoration of the River Mark in Breda, the Netherlands, and the strengthening of the green corridor along the River Leça in Matosinhos, Portugal.

In Bremen, Germany, a project transforms the flood defenses of a large urban beach, showing how protective infrastructure can also contribute to the quality of public life. Basel’s principal green public space is represented by a project aimed at preserving its natural heritage.

The projects reveal how landscape architecture is increasingly being used not merely to beautify cities, but to repair ecological systems and make urban areas more resilient.

Small interventions with broad ambitions

Not all of the shortlisted works operate at the scale of former airports or rail yards. Several demonstrate how modest or temporary changes can reshape public life.

In Piódão, Portugal, a car park has been converted into the town’s central square. In Methana, Greece, a fountain has been temporarily transformed into a public bathing space, while in Logroño, Spain, a roundabout has undergone a similar reinvention.

Such projects challenge conventional ideas about what constitutes valuable public space. A parking area, traffic island or piece of infrastructure can become a place for gathering, play or rest when reconsidered through design.

Other projects address the relationship between public access and historic heritage. The shortlist includes an urban forest created on the forecourt of Paris City Hall, interventions in two Brussels squares, an inner courtyard project in Inca, Spain, and a scheme providing universal access to Lisbon Castle.

These works show how accessibility can be introduced into historically sensitive locations without diminishing their cultural significance.

A prize shaped by Europe’s changing cities

The European Prize for Urban Public Space was founded 25 years ago and has now completed 12 editions. During that time, it has received approximately 2,800 proposals from 43 Council of Europe countries.

Its focus is rooted in the idea of the European city as a place defined by human scale, compact development and a mixture of uses. Within that model, public space serves as more than an architectural setting: it is a shared arena where political, economic and social life unfolds.

The prize’s advisory network includes architecture and cultural institutions in Bordeaux, Vienna, Stockholm, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Tallinn, Budapest, Ljubljana and London. This Europe-wide structure is intended to expand the visibility of the selected projects and encourage discussion about how public space is designed and governed.

The 25 shortlisted projects will be included in the edition’s catalogue and added to the prize’s online archive, which documents notable public-space interventions submitted since the award was established.

Five finalists will be announced on September 9. On October 14, the shortlisted teams will present their projects during a public session at the CCCB in Barcelona. The jury will then select the winner, to be announced at an award ceremony on October 15.

In a year marked by record participation, the shortlist offers a broad portrait of how European cities are confronting some of their most urgent challenges—not by treating public space as empty ground between buildings, but as essential infrastructure for climate resilience, social connection and democratic life.