Two Weeks Left to Enter the FutureTown Design Competition

What changes would you like to see in your town or city neighbourhood?

Scotland’s Towns Partnership and Scotland’s Improvement Districts invite you to take part in the fourth annual FutureTown Design Competition to gain media profile for your town or city district and a possible keynote slot at one of our national events to present your idea to an audience of town and policy stakeholders! The Scotsman newspaper is our media partner once again for the competition.

Now in its fourth year, the FutureTown Design Competition is aimed at stimulating conversations, provoking ideas and encouraging new approaches to highlight what our towns and urban areas could look like now and in the future. The winner is chosen by the public through an online vote.

Since its inception the FTDC has showcased a rich variety of innovative yet practical ideas promoting positive change in areas such as the local environment, the public realm and accessibility, low carbon and sustainable living, digital technologies and tourism, arts and culture, history and heritage, and health and well-being.

Last year’s winners, Paisley Community Trust, captured public attention with their proposal for a new cultural and creative quarter in Paisley town centre. A full montage of shortlisted entries for 2017 is available here.

Why Enter

All shortlisted entries gain media and online profile for their town or city neighbourhood, and the winner will be invited to a keynote slot at one of our national events to present the idea to an audience of town and policy stakeholders. The Scotsman newspaper is our media partner once again for the competition.

Gary Kerr, Chair of Paisley Community Trust, encouraged those with ideas for their town or community to get involved in the competition:

“Entering the competition in 2017 was an opportunity to raise the profile of Baker Street nationally, benchmark against other exciting regeneration ideas for towns across Scotland, and await public feedback. We were delighted with the result! Our profile and social media statistics during the voting period were some of the largest we have seen”.

“Baker Street has certainly captured the public’s imagination – winning gives us confidence we are getting things right and the community are right behind us. If you have an idea that would make your town better then you should enter, we’d encourage you to take part”.

How to Enter

The deadline for entries is 5pm on Wednesday 31 October 2018. Scotland’s Towns Partnership will shortlist entries, and then the winner will be decided by a public vote held during Scotland’s Towns Week, November 2018 (date TBC).

There is no application form for this competition. However, entries should include a visual representation(s) of your town or idea (photograph, sketch, graphic design, or illustrative image etc), as well as a short written description. Please note, that applications should be no more than two A4 pages, or one A3 page.

Please see past competitions for ideas that could inspire your application from previous competitions. Previous entries have included:

  • Image,
  • Sketch,
  • Photograph,
  • Other visual design,
  • Poem
  • Other written idea for a space in your town centre.

Applications can be innovative and creative yet practical and should look to provide genuine potential for development within your town. Whether a unique bin design, building redevelopment, cultural initiative, transport feature, digital deployment, or a new use for existing public or vacant space…feel free to think outside of the box!

Applications can be sent to: ewan@scotlandstowns.org.

See competition webpage for more information.