The globalized cities that we inhabit are woven together by intricate and extensive networks of urban mobility. These networks are intended not only to make cities more accessible to their inhabitants, but also to facilitate financial growth by plugging into the global economy.

They comprise of massive physical structures that are amongst some of the largest forms of urban infrastructure within and in between cities. They influence the urban morphology significantly by transforming the geography of the city and its peripheries, shaping communities through connections, but also through separations.

As the primary mechanisms for moving large numbers of people, goods and services across vast distances, these urban infrastructures of public transport become some of the most dominant, if not the defining, components of the urban system. Their diverse forms connect disparate regions, just as their looming presence contributes a visual identity to those places, representing not only physical but also social mobility and human aspiration. And yet, they often embody the prevailing contentions over access to the land on which they are built, perpetuating the disparities between the neighborhoods they were built to connect.

It is within this constant flux and dynamic milieu of infrastructure, integration and identity that negotiations for access to mobility play out every day. The result are informal yet innovative improvisations that people develop to fill the voids that get created around these infrastructures or are left behind in their wake.

They may manifest in a variety of forms;

as the residual spaces around transport nodes that facilitate intermediate public transport systems for last mile connectivity;

as the curb edges along access roads to transport terminals that accommodate transient parking of pick-up vehicles;

as the boundary walls of transit corridors that support the displays of goods set up in informal markets outside them; as the landings of elevated pedestrian walkways that become social spaces for the neighborhood communities;

a vast diversity of opportunities for improvisation.

The 12th International Design Competition 2026 encourages participants to identify such scenarios of transport infrastructure and improvisations in urban mobility and propose innovative design ideas that not only enhance the improvisations but also have a transformative impact to create engaging and vibrant the public spaces.

The competition strongly emphasizes a robust analytical study to understand the inherent characteristics of these improvisations identified and the value they create within the spaces that they appropriate, as well as a clear theoretical position that informs the design approach and compliments the inferences derived through the analysis, to put forward the innovative design ideas that redefine urban built environments.