City
Better
Life

City
Better
Life

City
Better
Life

City
Better
Life

About

CityBetterLife is a non-profit organization run by school students, established in 2020 as a competition aimed to encourage the youth to observe and discover underappreciated urban issues. The competition serves as an interdisciplinary educational exchange platform based on urban and rural planning.
We encourage youth living in urban areas to reflect on their living spaces and perceive how residents are serving as a part of the complex urban life, allowing them to engage in academic exploration and to think about possible solutions.
We look for all kinds of environmental issues (air, water, land, etc.), cultural issues (dialects, traditional crafts, etc.), economic issues (housing, poverty, employment), and social issues (elderly care, marriage, gentrification) that take place in anywhere in the city, in residential areas, streets, hospitals, schools, public green spaces, office buildings, commercial stores, squares or parks.
In the past few years, we have successfully organized three editions of the Urban Issues Search Contest. The contest themes cover a wide range of topics, including urban color, environmental crisis, online media, and more. Students actively participate in exploring the competition and have received excellent responses.
The submissions are judged and commented by professional mentors, and academic seminars are provided to inspire participants and to guide them in their academic exploration process. We look for and welcome youth who have love for their city and who are willing to explore issues in their hometown with sharp eyes and sincere hearts. Participants, on the other hand, can also gain precious experience by participating in our competition by being mentored by professional judges and through the motivation to explore the urban life around them.

Founder

Sia Li
I am Sia Li, from Chongqing Yucai Secondary School. As a community member and founder of this competition, I am deeply concerned about issues such as drinking water safety and plastic recycling. I am passionate about identifying environmental problems and addressing them through technology and policy. Additionally, as an older sister, I am committed to advocating for educational equality and recognizing the unique aspects of children's development. Through my efforts, I hope to help citizens and the community better understand the nature of our society from both environmental and children's perspectives and to realize the roles we play within it. My goal is to raise public awareness to protect the environment and foster a deep love for our city.
Hanwen Qiu
I am Hanwen Qiu from Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School. I am particularly drawn to the increasing water scarcity, and committed to research projects on water conservation and treatment. Living in Shanghai, I feel the pressing need to balance between environment and urban development. Reserving urban green space, recycling electronic wastes, and building urban resilience from various angels – these are the areas I am exploring proactively. My goal is to solve practical urban issues and build a sustainable future together.

Committee

Belle -谭欣悦
I am Belle, a tenth grader in SSBS. As part of the organizing committee, I am mainly focusing on the gender topic. My part of work includes gathering information, planning out the prompt, and setting up social media accounts to publicize our contest. Outside the committee, I am the leader of school food club, a member of school biology club and a voluntary teacher for two years, teaching Hebei students English online. My interests towards gender studies and social justice rose through readings regarding the underprivileged groups. I wish to explore different possibilities and solutions toward contemporary social issues together with all the participants.
Austin -王逸楠
I am Austin Wang, a ten grader from Shanghai Starriver bilingual school. As part of the organizing committee, my obligation is gathering judges for our competition. I am a passionate rower who has gained gold medals for my school as well as a fanatic basketball lover who is also a member for varsity basketball. I am highly aware of social problems, mainly focusing on gender inequality. I wish to build an equal society with my efforts, and I will never stop to change the world in my way.
Yoona -李欣澄
Hi, I am Yoona, an eleven grade students in UWC changshu. I am the part of committee of City Better Life program. We aim to encourage young people in cities to observe urban issues and try to solve issues from different perspectives to show their unique insights. I am glad to communicate with all participants and give support. Outside the committee, I am the leader of my school’s sign language club. I am passionate about learning sign language and deaf culture. In the future, I will try my best to contribute to City better life.
Cecily -方辰妤
I am Cecily Fang, an eleven grader in Shanghai Pinghe School. Being part of the committee, I activity take part in topic designing and contact with sponsors to provide the basis of our competition. Besides, I am a big fan of K-pop which I have did much research on. Being interested in social issues, I am a student who aim to contribute to solving media related issues. I hope more changes could be made in the future.
"Confidante Grandma"
Likes debating, movies, and literature. Concerned about urban environmental issues, urban business planning, and urban architecture.
Violet
I enjoy reading and crafting, and is particularly interested in urban environmental issues.
Luoxuan Li
Understanding of the city: Working in a small town is like receiving a death notice fifty years in advance, while in a big city, it's like holding onto a fictional treasure map.
Anne
Memory is also a burden, as it flips through various marks to affirm the existence of the city. - Italo Calvino
Leyi Zhao
Thankful for time and silence, allowing me to discover the stillness of the night, where I listen to the voice of the city.We all live in the city and depend on urban life at all times. While we explore the mysteries of the city, we discover that we have already created everything.

judges

Junli Xu
-- Master's degree in Ecology (Pollution Ecology Direction).
-- Ph.D. in Ecology (Urban Ecology Direction).
Mainly engaged in teaching and research work in environmental investigation, ecosystem health assessment, pollution prevention and ecological restoration, sustainable agriculture, and environmental education.
Xiujie Li
-- With professional backgrounds in landscape architecture, architecture, biology, and medicine, I have a strong interest in traditional culture, as well as practical experience in landscape planning and design.
Design thinking starts from the perspective of users and solving site-specific problems, emphasizing the social aspect of actual construction projects. I focus on the users' experience in completed projects, the interaction between users and the built environment, and the positive impact of the built environment on users' health.
Anna Sheong (XIONG)
-- A pre Entrepreneur, Private Equity Investor and Wealth Management Consultant. Her projects are mostly related to sustainability and blockchain technologies. Anna & her family are art patrons and enthusiasts of art and architecture.
-- During Anna's last 12 years living in North America and Europe, she encountered significant social, economic and political changes in Western society and witnessed how such movements and causes shaped the world as it is today. Anna and Jessica Luo currently are developing a podcast program to address those issues. They would like to stir and raise the community's awareness by sharing their findings and perspectives.
-- Anna is also working on an on-site project in South Europe, which is to convert a less efficient, colonial-style country summer villa into a highly efficient, sustainable four-season residence. Multiple solutions are under-implemented to promote sustainability to its highest.
Shangbd Jing
-- Master's degree: East Asian Studies, Harvard University
-- Major in Economics and Philosophy Scienceconcentrate in Cognitive, Williams College
-- # EXPERIENCE #conomic Policy Research Institute. Research AssistantBerkshire Food Project Williams College Office of College Relationships, Office Specialist #LEADERSHIP & ACTIVITIES# Williams College Class of 2024 Leadership Team, PresidentEastern Liberal Arts Colleges Alliance, Founderternational Youth Innovation and SDGs Debate Summit, Founder

Competition

2020

In 2020, we hosted our first competition, encouraging participants to search for urban problems from four major directions: environment, culture, economy, and society through online research or field trips, and to form written reports for submission to the competition. They actively and thoroughly understand the formation of urban problems and perceive the vastness and complexity of this life.

Award Achievements Exhibition

Urban Colorology

Urban Colorology is an often overlooked aspect in the process of urban planning and construction in the past. Modern planners have realized the significance of urban colors in shaping the overall appearance of cities. With the assistance of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, many cities have identified colors that are in line with their historical development, cultural context, topography, and weather conditions. Conducting color planning for cities has become an excellent proposition, designing unique colors for the cities they belong to.

Hangzhou

Ink style

Chengdu

Ginkgo yellow

Beijing

Red and silver

2022

In past competitions, participants have articulated urban issues discovered through professional and academic perspectives, using research reports or social commentary articles to propose effective and feasible solutions from the viewpoint of urban designers, contributing to the strategic planning for our city's development. Issues such as "the plight of urban villages," "urban color planning," and "conflicts in internet-famous cities" vividly demonstrate the participants' meticulous insight into urban challenges.
The 2022 New Urban Issue Search Competition is officially underway. We have retained the original article presentation format while integrating it with contemporary entertaining formats. The competition has introduced multimedia and video interviews as additional presentation methods, aiming to encourage more young people to actively engage with society and explore urban issues from diverse perspectives.

Competition description

The pace of technological advancement has outstripped the capacity of urban living, leading to a blend of innovation driving societal progress and internal environmental complexities. People have transitioned from being leaders guided by technology to followers "controlled" by the internet. Despite frequent natural disasters, environmental protection initiatives seem to be encountering obstacles, with the proliferation of convenient technological products satisfying materialistic and hedonistic desires while introducing greater social uncertainties. The prevalence of non-standard and uncivilized behaviors continues to rise, with some individuals shamelessly adorning their actions with a disregard for social responsibility. As participants in online platforms and cohabitants with nature, we must actively contemplate how to address this current state of affairs.

Contestants can choose one of the following topics:

  • How should cities respond to environmental crises?
    With the rampant development of industry in recent years, the climate crisis is increasingly looming closer to us. Power outages, wildfires, extreme heat, heavy rains... events that were once confined to newspaper headlines are now quietly manifesting around us. In response to the current changes in nature and their impact on society, what negative effects will our cities face, and how should they respond?
  • Do cities also like "TikTok"?
    The lifestyle of "phubbing" is something that almost everyone can relate to. TikTok, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, and other video/social apps have become indispensable for nearly everyone. The Internet has become the mainstream channel for information dissemination, but underneath this information dissemination facade, are there negative impacts lurking? How do various malicious behaviors and misunderstandings such as "keyboard warriors" and "mindless criticism" influence our cities, and what countermeasures do we have? Do cities also like "TikTok"? (Note: TikTok is just a synonym for online media, and participants do not need to focus solely on TikTok as the subject of their research; they are free to explore other media forms.)

the temperature of the city

will cities like social media

Entry requirements

Team Requirements:
  • Students in grades 9-12, with 2-6 members per team
Submission Requirements:
  • A research paper of 1000-1500 words
  • A video of no more than 5 minutes
Registration Method:
  • Scan and fill out the questionnaire below, then add the assistant's WeChat account.
  • Registration Fee: 399 yuan per team
  • Registration Deadline: January 31, 2023
  • Submission Deadline: April 1, 2023
Submission Method:
  • Send both pieces of work to citybetterlife@proton.me
Specific Requirements and Evaluation Criteria for Submissions: (The research paper and video each account for 50% of the total score)
paper
  • Paper Format: Both Chinese and English are acceptable
  • Word Count: 1000-1500 words
  • Purpose of the Paper: Choose one of the two topics and elucidate the urban problems and solutions discovered based on the guided questions
Evaluation Criteria:
  • Significance of the Topic: Social value, professional value
  • Approach to Problem Solving: Ability to address the problem, logical closure of ideas
  • Creativity of Ideas, Understanding of the Problem
  • Paper Format: Both Chinese and English are acceptable
video
  • Video Duration: Within five minutes
  • Purpose of the Video: To elucidate the research problem. It can include field visits, interview records, case presentations, etc.
Evaluation Criteria:
  • Originality: Was the video content filmed and created by the participants themselves, or was it edited and edited from other materials?
  • Logical Structure and Clarity: Is the video content organized, logically clear, and centered on a clear central theme?
  • Content Richness and Relevance: Is the video content sufficiently rich, providing ample and targeted information to illustrate the issues being investigated?
  • Innovation: Are the problems discovered by the participants novel? Are they issues commonly present in cities but overlooked or unnoticed by most people? Does the video effectively demonstrate the insight of the participants?
  • Innovation: Are the problems discovered by the participants novel? Are they issues commonly present in cities but overlooked or unnoticed by most people? Does the video effectively demonstrate the insight of the participants?
  • Duration: Does the video effectively present the above content within the specified time (5 minutes)? Points will be deducted for exceeding the time limit.

awards setting

Prize Settings:
  • First Prize *1: 1000yuan per team
  • Second Prize *1: 800yuan per team
  • Third Prize *1: 500yuan per team
Video Awards:
  • Best Creative Award *1
  • Deepest Insight Award *1
  • Best Visual Award *1
  • (Each winning team will receive additional certificates)
Other Awards:
  • All participating teams will receive participation certificates.
  • Team leaders will receive additional leader certificates.

works show

City Lights

Continuous Flow

Yellow River Fish

Guardians of Shanghai

HCL - Meixuan Huang

HIT AND RUN

PhXdia - chenyu fang

zsc

2024

The rapid development of cities, marked by the construction of skyscrapers, elevated highways, subway systems, and commercial districts, undoubtedly signifies the progress of our times.
However, behind this rapid development, various contradictions arising from uneven development are gradually becoming more pronounced, exacerbated by the growing disparities in the living environments of different groups. Therefore, the topics of fairness and equality have gradually attracted widespread attention, including differences in housing prices in different regions, the division of roles between men and women in society and the family, regional discrimination, and so on. We, as the witnesses of this era, will also become the group witnessed by the times, bearing the heavy responsibility of contemplating and seeking solutions to these realities.

Competition description

The pace of technological advancement has outstripped the capacity of urban living, leading to a blend of innovation driving societal progress and internal environmental complexities. People have transitioned from being leaders guided by technology to followers "controlled" by the internet. Despite frequent natural disasters, environmental protection initiatives seem to be encountering obstacles, with the proliferation of convenient technological products satisfying materialistic and hedonistic desires while introducing greater social uncertainties. The prevalence of non-standard and uncivilized behaviors continues to rise, with some individuals shamelessly adorning their actions with a disregard for social responsibility. As participants in online platforms and cohabitants with nature, we must actively contemplate how to address this current state of affairs.

Contestants can choose one of the following two topics for in-depth discussion:

  • How does technological development affect educational equality?
    The rapid development of technology has not only changed the face of society but also brought unprecedented convenience to education. The popularization of remote live streaming, online recordings, and online learning resources has made knowledge acquisition more accessible. However, in such a context, we cannot help but ask: Has the issue of educational equity been effectively alleviated? Has the development of technology truly promoted the equitable distribution of educational resources?
  • The impact of male-dominated culture and its response
    The information we encounter largely shapes the way we view the world. Dominant ideologies such as male-dominated culture subtly influence our thinking through various channels. The penetration of male-dominated culture is particularly evident in the media and film industry, constructing a virtual world full of stereotypes and constantly disseminating information that serves its interests, thus unconsciously influencing us. Additionally, male-centric ideologies are further propagated through social media on the internet, leading to the prevalence of some harsh and vulgar speech and phenomena, such as the mocked "yuan" culture and the marginalization of sexual minority groups. Therefore, we need to analyze the operation mechanism of male-dominated culture and its impact on us from a gender perspective, and consider how other gender groups should respond to this challenge.

Entry requirements

Team Requirements:
  • Students in grades 9-12, with 2-6 members per team
Submission Requirements:
  • A research paper of 1000-1500 words
  • A video of no more than 5 minutes
Registration Method:
  • Scan and fill out the questionnaire below, then add the assistant's WeChat account.
  • Registration Fee: 399 yuan per team
  • Registration Deadline: July 15, 2024
  • Submission Deadline: August 10, 2024
  • Defense date: August 20, 2024
Submission Method:
  • Send both pieces of work to citybetterlife@proton.me

Paper Requirements

I. Paper Section

1.Purpose of the Paper
Choose one of the given topics and elaborate on the urban issues and solutions discovered based on the guided questions.
2.Paper Format
Both Chinese and English are acceptable, formatted as follows:
  • Chinese Title: Bold, font size 2, centered, SimSun
  • Chinese Text: Font size 4, SimSun
  • English Title: Bold, font size 3, centered, Times New Roman
  • English Text: Font size 4, Times New Roman
3. Evaluation Criteria
  • Significance of the chosen topic: Assess the social and professional value of the chosen topic.
  • Problem-solving approach: Evaluate the feasibility of the solution and the completeness of the logical loop.
  • Creativity of ideas and understanding of the problem: Analyze the contestant's unique insights into the problem and the innovativeness of the solution.

II. Video Section

1.Duration of the Video
Within five minutes
2.Purpose of the Video
To elaborate on the research problem, including on-site investigations, interview records, case studies, etc.
3. Evaluation Criteria
  • Originality: Whether the video content is self-shot and created by the contestant, or whether other materials have been edited and edited.
  • Logical structure and clarity: Whether the video content is organized, whether the logic is clear, and whether the central theme is clear.
  • Content richness and relevance: Whether the investigation/interview information presented in the video is rich, and whether it can fully and specifically illustrate the problems under investigation.
  • Innovation: Whether the problems discovered by the contestants are novel, whether they reflect common but unnoticed problems in the city, and whether they demonstrate the contestants' insight.
  • Editing style: Whether the video conception and presentation form are novel and creative, the clarity and fluency of the video, and the visual and auditory experience.
  • Duration: Whether the above content is effectively presented within the specified five minutes. Exceeding the time limit will result in point deductions.

III. Awards Section

1.DPrize Settings
  • First Prize: 1 team, prize of 1000 yuan/team, certificate, trophy, and medal;
  • Second Prize: 1 team, prize of 800 yuan/team, certificate, trophy, and medal;
  • Third Prize: 1 team, prize of 500 yuan/team, certificate, trophy, and medal.
  • Note: In addition to the prize money, all winning teams will also receive certificates, trophies, and medals issued by the organizer.
2.Video Awards Settings
  • Best Creativity Award: 1 team, certificate to recognize the unique creativity and innovative ideas of the contestants in video creation;
  • Deepest Insight Award: 1 team, certificate to recognize the profound thoughts and insights conveyed by the contestants in the video;
  • Best Visual Award: 1 team, certificate to recognize the outstanding visual effects and artistic expression demonstrated by the contestants in video production.
  • Note: Winners of the video awards will receive certificates issued by the organizer to recognize their outstanding performance in video creation and presentation.
3.Other Awards Settings
  • All participating teams will receive participation certificates issued by the organizer to recognize their active participation and efforts;
  • Team leaders will receive additional leader certificates to recognize their contributions to team organization and management.
  • Note: Participation certificates and leader certificates are recognition of the hard work and dedication of participants and team leaders, as well as encouragement and motivation for their future learning and development.

IV. Notices

Please ensure that the content of the paper and video conforms to academic norms and ethical standards, and refrain from any improper behavior such as plagiarism and infringement.

works show

The Male-Dominated Culture in Film and Television

The influence of Tibetan culture on the status of women in the region

Impact of Technological Development on Educational Equality

Limitations of technology towards resolving educational inequality

How technological development affects educational equality

The digital divide is a new obstacle to educational equity

Helping impoverished children in small and medium-sized cities to address unequal access to education

list of awards

First Prize
  • Li Lewei
  • Fan Yixuan
  • Zhang Anran
  • Jin Jiayu
Second Prize
  • Tian Xinpeng/div>
Third Prize
  • Gao Haosi
Best Paper Argumentation Award
  • Sun Heyi
  • Wu Haolin
  • Zhang Mingzhe
  • Xu Enyang
  • Chen Letian
  • Jaden
Best Creative Video Award
  • Xu Yiwen
  • Wu Xi
  • Ding Wanru
  • Xia Ziyao
  • Gu Jiaxi
Best Analysis Award
  • Xu Zijian
  • Xiong Lingrui
Best Paper Topic Perspective Award
  • Hong Yiyang
  • Gong Chuyao
  • Dai Yan
Best Defense Performance Award
  • Li Zhuocheng
  • Qin Ruoxi
Best Teamwork Award
  • Fang Xinran
  • Hou Jun
  • Ma Jiantian

Contact us

Stay tuned...