Urban greening is more than a complementary feature of city planning—it is a vital tool for delivering climate resilience, restoring biodiversity, and improving urban life. Reflecting this shift, the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) – the world’s champion for the power of plants – recognises cities that place plants at the centre of their strategies through the AIPH World Green City Awards. Today, AIPH announces the Category Leads guiding the selection of the 21 finalists for the 2026 Awards edition.

Informed use of plants in urban environments addresses some of the most pressing challenges facing cities today, including climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, competitiveness, and liveability. The AIPH World Green City Awards recognise cities that are responding to these challenges through high-quality, plant-based solutions that deliver measurable impact.

The Awards are built on a rigorous, peer-reviewed evaluation framework that assesses functional urban greening initiatives. As the 2026 Awards process advances, AIPH is working with a panel of international experts to ensure that each entry is assessed with depth, fairness, and technical insight.

Category Leads for 2026

AIPH is pleased to confirm the following  Category Leads, who are guiding the technical review process across each Award category:

• Living Green for Biodiversity & Urban Ecosystem Restoration – John-Rob Pool, Senior Manager, Nature-positive Urban Development & UrbanShift, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, World Resources Institute
• Living Green for Climate Change – Melinda Martinus, Lead Researcher, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute (ISEAS)
• Living Green for Health & Wellbeing – Amanda O’Rourke, CEO, 8 80 Cities
• Living Green for Water – Sarah Crowe, Town Planner / Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland
• Living Green for Social Cohesion & Inclusive Communities – Leticia Lozano, Director General, MACIA Estudio
• Living Green for Urban Infrastructure & Liveability – Ton Vergeldt, Senior Project Manager, Arcadis
• Living Green for Urban Agriculture & Food Systems – Kevin Frediani, Operations Manager, National Trust for Scotland