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Vizag Wins $1M Global Climate Prize for Citizen-Led Resilience Plan

Visakhapatnam has won a $1 million grant in the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025-2026 Mayors Challenge for its Vizag-Prajamukhi Urban Living Lab (V-PULL) initiative. The city was selected as one of 24 global winners from over 630 competing cities, joining ranks with international hubs like Barcelona and Toronto. The V-PULL model is a citizen-centric framework designed to mitigate the impacts of floods, cyclones, and severe heatwaves through hyperlocal, participatory solutions. The grant will be used to strengthen this bottom-up governance approach and expand disaster preparedness initiatives across more city wards.

Key Points: Vizag Wins Bloomberg $1M Grant for Climate Resilience

  • Won $1M Bloomberg grant
  • Among 24 winners from 630+ cities
  • Citizen-driven climate resilience model
  • Aims to mitigate floods, cyclones, heatwaves
  • Strengthens bottom-up governance
2 min read

Vizag earns global honour for its climate resilience initiative

Visakhapatnam wins $1M in Bloomberg Mayors Challenge for its citizen-driven V-PULL initiative to combat floods, cyclones, and heatwaves.

"This recognition strengthens our belief that cities can lead transformative change when innovation is grounded in citizen participation - Ketan Garg"

Visakhapatnam, Feb 26

Visakhapatnam secured a major global honour, winning a $1 million grant in the prestigious Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025-2026 Mayors Challenge for its innovative climate resilience initiative, Vizag-Prajamukhi Urban Living Lab.

According to a government statement on Thursday, the award was announced on Wednesday.

Visakhapatnam was selected as one of the 24 global winners, emerging from more than 630 cities across the world that competed in the challenge.

Visakhapatnam joined global cities like Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Toronto, Cape Town, Budapest, Medellin and Belfast on Global Climate Innovation Platform.

V-PULL, a flagship model of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), earned international recognition for its civic participation framework aimed at mitigating the impacts of floods, cyclones and severe heatwaves through collaborative, citizen-driven solutions.

The initiative operates under a citizen-centric, climate-resilient and hyperlocal governance approach.

In the initial phase of the competition, GVMC was shortlisted among the top 50 finalists and received $50,000 in seed funding along with technical assistance.

"With this support, the civic body implemented pilot interventions at the local level. Structured ward-level community meetings were conducted, hyperlocal sensing systems were tested and data-driven decision-making tools were introduced," the statement said.

Participatory climate resilience and disaster preparedness measures helped establish an effective feedback mechanism between citizens and municipal departments, strengthening bottom-up governance.

"Being selected as a winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025-2026 Mayors Challenge is a great honour for GVMC. This recognition strengthens our belief that cities can lead transformative change when innovation is grounded in citizen participation and field-tested solutions," GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg said.

"The $1 million grant will be utilised to strengthen the bottom-up governance approach, enhance disaster preparedness and expand these initiatives to more wards across the city," he added.

The Mayors Challenge was launched by Michael R. Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, to support bold and creative city governments in solving pressing urban challenges.

With this recognition, Visakhapatnam now shares the global platform with leading international cities, marking a significant milestone in Visakhapatnam's journey towards globally recognised climate-resilient urban governance.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Great achievement! But the real test is on-ground implementation. We've seen many "flagship models" fail after the initial hype. Hope the GVMC uses the $1 million grant transparently and actually involves citizens, not just on paper.
A
Aditya G
As someone from Vizag, I've attended a couple of these ward meetings. It felt good to be heard about local flooding issues. The hyperlocal sensing system they tested in our area last monsoon was quite effective. Good to see the effort getting global recognition.
S
Sarah B
This is exactly the kind of innovative, community-driven approach needed for climate resilience worldwide. Congratulations to Visakhapatnam! The model of linking data-driven tools with citizen feedback could be a blueprint for many cities.
K
Karthik V
Proud moment for Andhra Pradesh! After the cyclones and floods we face regularly, this initiative is much needed. Hope they scale it up quickly to all wards. The "bottom-up governance" approach mentioned is what we lack in most Indian cities.
M
Meera T
Wonderful! 👏 It's high time our cities get proactive about climate change instead of just reacting to disasters. The focus on heatwaves is crucial too, a silent killer in many Indian summers. More power to the team behind V-PULL!

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