Makassar Wins Global Award, Becomes Model for Innovative Cities Worldwide
Makassar, under the leadership of Mayor Munafri ‘Appi’ Arifuddin, has received the prestigious WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities 2025-2026. This international recognition positions Makassar as an increasingly influential innovative city on the global stage.
The WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities is a global award from the World Resources Institute (WRI) that honours outstanding initiatives, projects, or programmes that spark urban transformation towards sustainability. The award highlights best practices and tangible impacts in addressing urban challenges such as mobility, health, and infrastructure.
Diego Ramírez-Lovering, Programme Director of Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE), stated that Makassar’s success is not solely measured by the physical infrastructure built. This remarkable achievement also stems from strong collaboration between the government, universities, development partners, and the community in creating a healthier and more resilient environment.
“Makassar has proven that community partnerships, technical innovation, and government commitment can synergise to improve living conditions and create healthier settlements,” Diego said during the Mayor’s Exclusive Roundtable Meeting held at the Baruga Anging Mammiri, the official residence of the Makassar Mayor, on Monday (22/6/2026). The event was organised jointly by the Makassar City Government, Hasanuddin University, and Monash University (Australia).
Diego assessed that Makassar has demonstrated genuine leadership in community-based settlement development. He noted that this approach serves as an important example for other cities worldwide in tackling challenges related to sanitation, health, and climate change. “The next challenge and task is to expand the implementation of the RISE approach to more residential areas so that its benefits can be felt by a wider community,” he explained.
Mayor Munafri Arifuddin explained that the meeting was held as a ceremony to celebrate the global award won by the RISE programme. The innovative programme secured a position among the world’s top five finalists at the WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities event in New York several months ago. This award represents global recognition of the programme’s success in improving the quality of residential environments and public sanitation, as well as public health, through a community-based approach implemented for nearly a decade in Makassar.
Munafri noted that the Makassar City Government was unable to attend the award ceremony in the United States in person. “This award was achieved not because we sought it, but because we worked earnestly to ensure the programme delivered a direct and tangible impact within the community,” Munafri stated. He has since instructed all regional apparatus, with Bappeda as the leading sector, to immediately prepare follow-up steps for expanding the programme. “This programme must be replicated and initiated by the Makassar City Government to provide maximum budgeting for the continuation of the RISE programme in this city,” he concluded.