Call for Awards Nominations
The Organizing Committee for the 2017 Urban Planning Conference seeks nominations for an award that will be given at the conference. This year's theme is "Equity Planning: Creating Diverse and Inclusive Communities."
The conference will focus on equity planning to address the widening gap between prosperous communities and those that continue to be disenfranchised. Despite the growth and positive transformation that have occurred in many rural and urban areas over the past few decades, a significant segment of the American population live in substandard conditions. As planning professionals, it is crucial that we promote equitable development and advocate for policies and practices that mitigate systemic inequities in housing, transportation, economic opportunities, and living environments.
The Urban Planning Award is given to recognize outstanding initiatives that provide public benefit (e.g. respond to needs of changing community, provide tangible benefits, improve accessibility, etc.). The initiative must demonstrate one or more of the following themes: 1) collaboration, 2) implementation, and 4) design.
- Collaboration: initiatives that demonstrate inclusive collaboration that resulted in successful plans and/or projects. Examples include: diverse community engagement initiatives that included a wide cross-section of interests; task-forces, advisory groups and coalitions working together to address infrastructure, beautification, environmental issues, economic disparity, transportation and/or public awareness and education. These can be long or short-term and can highlight processes as well as implementation and outcome.
- Implementation: Examples may include successful projects dealing with the built and natural environment, community awareness and education, economic development, and projects that promote healthy sustainable communities.
- Design: Innovation with re-designing plans, projects, sites and buildings to meet the current needs of a community while retaining the most valuable historic features. Examples can include activities to support: adaptive reuse, re-shaping the built environment, augmenting the natural environment or mitigating environmental challenges, designing or re-designing environments that encourage healthy social interactions, and the creation of spaces that support cultural activities.
Public and private projects are eligible for nomination as well as both structural and non-structural initiatives.
To nominate an individual or organization for the award, provide the information on the attached form and return it to the Urban Planning Conference Awards Selection Committee via email or fax, by close of business February 23, 2017. Email to: Dr. David Bell at belld@savannahstate.edu or Dr. Deden Rukmana at rukmanad@savannahstate.edu. Applications can also be faxed to 912.358.8050.
Please note "Award Nomination" in subject line or cover page.