2026 Photography Contest: Sharing and Caring Cities - Portraits of Collective Urban Life

Sharing and Caring Cities: Portraits of Collective Urban Life

Across the world, cities are shaped by what we share: our streets, our stories, our struggles, and our hopes. Sidewalk markets in Bogotá, commuter trains in Tokyo, neighborhood parks in Nairobi, waterfronts in Amsterdam, and streets in Minneapolis are all urban places that become shared spaces where culture, community, and creativity thrive.

The Penn Institute for Urban Research invites photographers and visual storytellers around the world to enter our 10th annual photo contest: Sharing and Caring Cities: Portraits of Collective Urban Life.

As urban challenges grow more complex—from inequality and climate change to displacement and polarization—spaces for caring and sharing are more needed than ever. They offer opportunities for collaboration between public, private, and civic actors and help foster belonging, resilience, and innovation at the neighborhood level.

What We’re Looking For

Submit your most powerful photo or short video (1 minute or less) that reflects what it means to share a city in your part of the world. We welcome broad, creative interpretations across themes such as:

• Children playing beside elders in public parks  
• Artists and activists transforming passageways into stages for change
• Vendors, commuters, and neighbors moving in rhythm along the same sidewalk
• Nature reclaiming space in harmony with human infrastructure
• Private, public, and civic sectors work together to improve daily life

Whether you're documenting a festival in Accra, a transit hub in Delhi, a protest in Paris, or a shared rooftop in Bangkok, we want to see what shared cities embedded with care mean to you.

Prizes & Submission Details

Grand Prize: $500 USD
Deadline: April 15, 2026

A prize of $500 will be awarded to the top submission as determined by a panel of Penn-affiliated judges. Other exemplary submissions will be awarded Honorable Mentions. 

Submissions are now closed. 

Recognition

Winning entries will be credited and featured in Penn IUR’s global newsletter, The Urban Link, and across our social media platforms, and annual report, reaching urban scholars, planners, and practitioners around the world.

The contest is open to the public, anywhere in the world. All ages and experience levels welcome.

Jury

A panel of scholars and artists from the University of Pennsylvania will judge entries, including:

Nikhil Anand, PhD
Interim Director Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI)
Daniel Braun Silvers and Robert Peter Silvers Family Presidential Professor of Anthropology; 
Director, EnviroLab

Amy Hillier, MSW, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice

Matthew Neff 
Director, Undergraduate Fine Arts and Design
Associate Adjunct Professor, Weitzman School of Design

Jennifer Whittaker, PhD, MUP
Research Scientist, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Policy Lab
 

Help us document how urban life is shared, shaped, and strengthened across the globe. Your perspective can help inspire new ideas, foster understanding, and show the world what’s working. We can’t wait to see what you share!

Additional information:

• The contest is open to the public.
• Submissions will be judged by a panel of Penn IUR affiliates.
• Winning photographs will be credited and shared with Penn IUR Urban Link subscribers and on social media.

Notes:

• Photographers should submit no more than 3 photographs/videos
• All photos must be your original work, not AI-generated. Collage, cropping, and the use of software such as Photoshop are permitted.
• By entering the contest, you acknowledge that the submitted photo is an original work created solely by you, that the photo does not violate, plagiarize or infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, database, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the photo. You will retain all copyright ownership of the image, and it will be attributed to you when used.
• By entering the contest, all entrants grant Penn IUR and its affiliated publications an unrestricted, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, display, distribute, and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit). Penn IUR will not be required to seek any additional approval in connection with such use.
• Submissions that fail to meet ethical standards will not be considered. For additional information about general ethical guidelines for photographers, read the National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics.
• Prizes and awards constitute taxable income. U.S. taxes will be deducted from payment for winning photographs, regardless of a photographer’s nationality.

"The collapse of social compacts and values has produced an equally radical awareness of mutual interconnected-ness with environments, nature, and people. Care is the name for this exposure." — Michael Stone Richards, Philosopher, College of Creative Studies