The City of Vancouver has won the inaugural Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation for its Greenest City and housing affordability initiatives.

At a ceremony in Guangzhou, China, Vancouver received the top prize in the Sustainable City category. Deputy Mayor Kerry Jang accepted the award on behalf of the City.

The award, which comes with a US$20,000 cash prize and coincides with Guangzhou’s International Urban Innovations Conference, is aimed at inspiring innovations in improving the social, economic and environmental sustainability at the municipal level by sharing experiences and best practices among cities, regions and countries.

The City of Vancouver’s entry was among 255 submissions by 153 cities in 56 countries.