Annual Sandbox Competition

2026 Sandbox Competition: People-Centered Mobility in Transportation

Timeline for the Competition:

November 21: Expressions of Interest due, but competition is still open. If you are interested in participating after the November 21^st deadline, please reach out to Kathi Driggs at kdriggs@ite.org so you can receive future communications.
December 11: An optional informational webinar to more fully explain the 2026 Sandbox Competition from 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET. If you are interested in participating please put this on your calendar and log on using information listed below. If you complete the Expression of Interest, you will automatically be invited.
March 1: Professional entries due and judging.
March 31: Notification to professional team finalists.
April 1: Student Entries due
April 30: Notification to student team finalists.
May 1–July 1:
- Teams prepare final presentations for the Annual Meeting.
- Annual Meeting in July

2026 Sandbox Informational Webinar Recording

Recognition

The winning teams will be recognized at the ITE Annual Awards Luncheon in Detroit . Press and industry announcements will be issued highlighting the finalists and winners.
One paid full Annual Meeting registration will be provided to one representative from each of the two professional teams that are finalists.
One paid full Annual Meeting registration and up to $500 in travel expenses will be provided to one representative from each of the two student teams that are finalists.
The entries from the two winning teams (professional and student) will be featured in an issue of ITE Journal.
Other innovative submissions may also be highlighted in ITE Journal and included on the competition web page.

Current Year Competition:

Are you ready to shape the future of transportation? ITE invites you to participate in the 2026 Sandbox Competition, spotlighting People-Centered Mobility—a transformative approach that puts communities at the heart of transportation innovation.

Informational PowerPoint

Questions & Answers

Developed through ITE’s People-Centered Mobility GIG, this year’s Sandbox Competition brings the group’s vision to life. Guided by GIG members serving on the organizing committee, the challenge invites professionals and students alike to turn innovative, people-focused ideas into actionable solutions that can shape the future of transportation.

The needs, safety, and comfort of people are centered in transportation planning, design, and operations. People-centered mobility may be defined as a series of improvements which prioritize the wellbeing and quality of life for individuals and communities. The fundamental principles of people-centered transportation include safety, sustainability, health, efficiency, inclusivity, land use & urban planning, community engagement, and mobility options. People Centered Mobility (PCM)'s vision is to transform our mobility systems to prioritize people’s well-being, comfort and safety, enabling integrated multimodal choices that foster thriving and resilient communities.

The proposed sandbox activity includes applying strategic, programmatic, and tactical activities to specifically address PCM in a typical urban (or suburban) neighborhood. People Centered Mobility Improvements, as a general concept, often address one of the following elements:

Aging in Place. Planning infrastructure to adapt and be redesigned for aging population – maybe 15 years down the road. How should our system grow and change?
Healthy Communities. Creating a community that encourages healthy living by reducing the need for vehicle ownership and provides PCM accessibility to land uses and outdoor activities.
Movement/Place. Coordinate the transformation of land use and transportation. What changes should we make to the overall network?
- Which corridors or primary arterials should be redesigned to prioritize pedestrian movement and support people centered mobility?
- Which land use types should be relocated within the community to be more easily accessible via pedestrian activity?
Safe Systems. Keeping the six principles as the core elements, develop planning recommendations and strategies to reduce serious injuries and fatalities. What changes should we make to individual locations or segments?

Please Note: There are separate professional and student categories. Additionally, Professional teams and student teams will have different submission requirements and challenge parameters.

Cities/agencies wishing to enter would do so under the professional category.
Each member of your team must be a full-time undergraduate or graduate student to submit in the student category.

CHALLENGE PARAMETERS – PROFESSIONAL TEAMS

Problem Statement

The ITE Sandbox Competition identifies an existing suburban community. The community will be expected to undergo an anticipated demographic shift in population over the next 15 years, with the Horizon Year of 2040. The community will be subject to both an existing aging population, as well as the introduction of new residents by the year 2040.

The Sandbox competition will provide professional teams with a specific tract in the subject location(s) - noted in the link below. Consultant teams should develop a Preliminary Submission (3-5 Pages) with a detailed planning approach for how to incorporate the concepts of People Centered Mobility into the existing community. The preliminary planning process and submission should evaluate and prepare a plan to address Aging in Place. The responses should be primarily about Aging in Place as the focus of the design competition. We acknowledge these are connected to the other concepts and invite discussion especially in the approach and evaluation of impacts.

Figures 2A + 2B - Professional

What is Aging in Place? Aging in place refers to the concept of designing communities for current residence as they age, rather than anticipating older populations to relocate and move into a senior living community or nursing home.
What is the goal of Aging in Place? It encompasses the ability to maintain independence, access necessary services, and live comfortably in their familiar surroundings.
What is the objective of the Sandbox Competition? The consultant team shall be responsible for planning infrastructure to adapt and be redesigned for aging population. The plan should look to address aging in place with the demographics change to grow the census population by 20% and 50% of that total (original + new) population size will be over 65 years old.

Goals of the PCM Transportation Plan

Develop a Transportation Planning Approach which responds to the need for PCM.
1. Establish a common basis for decision making. Methodology and Approach should be founded in applying Context Sensitive Design and the Safe Systems Approach
2. Prioritize people through design. Outline Expected Road Users and develop a plan for how all roadway users will be accommodated and prioritized within the horizon year (15 years down the road).
Propose a plan to manage the future improvements to accommodate the demographic shift.
1. Provide justification for safety improvements.
2. How do we redesign to not have a driving solution?
Identify Pedestrian and Other Active Transportation Improvements / Safety Improvements to improve pedestrian mobility and accessibility within the identified community.
Identify Land Use and Other Active Transportation Improvements which are needed to support Aging in Place.

Professional Finalists

Two (2) finalists will advance the plan to the design phase for the ITE Sandbox Competition Presentation. Each finalist will prepare, and present design improvements outlined in their plan at the Joint ITE International and Great Lakes District Annual Meeting and Exhibition between July 19—22, 2026 at Huntington Place Detroit (Detroit, MI).

The winning teams will be recognized at the ITE Annual Awards Luncheon in Detroit. Press and industry announcements will be issued highlighting the finalists and winners. The entries from the two winning teams (professional and student) will be featured in an issue of ITE Journal.

Submission Guidelines

Each submission is limited to 3-5 8 ½ X 11 pages including covers, graphics, and/or images.
Submitters can use one (1) 11x17 page to present a graphic to support the preliminary plan. This 11x17 will count as one page.
Methodology and transferability to other corridors are the keys to the competition and the demonstration of these concepts should be apparent in the submission.
Explain your thought process and justify all your decisions – for example, did you include dedicated space for accessible access or people walking, how and why? Why did you provide the bus stop there?

CHALLENGE PARAMETERS – STUDENT TEAMS

Problem Statement:

The ITE Sandbox Competition will identify an existing college campus or community. The community will be expected to undergo an anticipated increase in residential population over the next 15 years, with the Horizon Year of 2040. The existing college campus will be subject to both an increase in population, as well as the reduction of available campus parking and vehicular accessibility.

The Sandbox competition will provide student teams with the subject location(s). The specific parameters of the school will be provided prior to the distribution of the formal problem statement and addressed in an open presentation and webinar in December.

Student teams should develop a People Centered Mobility Plan and Roadway Network Design to incorporate the concepts of People Centered Mobility into the existing campus environment. The teams should seek to reduce the reliance of personal vehicle movement and evaluate how to prioritize Movement/Place with a priority of people centered mobility.

What is the purpose of Movement/Place? Coordinate the transformation of land use and transportation which balances the needs of moving people with the need for streets to be functional for people to live and socialize. Ask questions to address the following?
- What changes should we make to the overall network?
- Which corridors or primary arterials should be redesigned to prioritize pedestrian movement and support people centered mobility?
- Which land use types should be relocated within the community to be more easily accessible via pedestrian activity?

Goals of the PCM Transportation Plan:

Prepare a Planning Approach and Conceptual Roadway Network which responds to the need for improved people centered mobility on your university campus.
1. Develop a Roadway Context Classification for Campus Roadways.
2. Develop a Movement & Place Framework. How do you decide which changes to buildings, land uses, etc. to make and how do they prioritize PCM.
3. Establish a common basis for decision making.
Identify and describe the needs of the transportation system.
1. Develop a vision and goals for the project
2. Identify, Discuss and Solve the challenges you encountered.
Prepare a plan, encompassing both design and planning strategies at the network level which address safe systems.
1. Identify Pedestrian and Other Active Transportation Improvements / Safety Improvements to improve pedestrian mobility and accessibility within the campus community. Provide justification for improvements.
2. Identify the necessary roadway and Transportation Infrastructure Improvements to support movement and place. How do we redesign to reduce reliance on driving as a solution?
3. The plan should identify a critical area of improvement on campus applying the safe systems approach. What changes are recommended to an individual location or segment to prioritize people centered mobility?
Demonstrate how your approach, strategies and solutions are transferable to other universities or campuses.

Student Finalists

Figures 1A+B - Student

Two (2) Student Teams will present the proposed PCM Design at the Joint ITE International and Great Lakes District Annual Meeting and Exhibition between July 19—22, 2026 at Huntington Place Detroit (Detroit, MI).

Submission Guidelines

Each submission is limited to ten (10) 8 ½ X 11 pages including covers, graphics, and/or images.
Submitters can use one (1) 11x17 page to present a graphic to support the preliminary plan. This 11x17 will count as one page.
Methodology and transferability to other corridors are the keys to the competition and the demonstration of these concepts should be apparent in the submission.
Explain your thought process and justify all your decisions – for example, did you include dedicated space for people walking, how and why? Why did you provide the bus stop there?

For questions, contact Kathi Driggs.