1998 APA National Planning Awards

The First AICP President's Award

University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Fine Arts, Department of City and Regional Planning
For rallying its resources in the face of a extinction a few years ago, Penn's city planning department is a model for protection and advancement of the planning profession. With this exemplary effort, the department has not only preserved its role as a distinguished planning institution, but renewed its quest to be a leader in redefining and advancing the field.

Daniel Burnham Award

Sierra Business Council
This business association of nearly 500 members is breaking all stereotypes. Their message, that the value of business in the region is tied directly to land use planning, is being heard loud and clear. The group's research, elaborated on in their Planning for Prosperity handbook, and presentations are elevating planning principles, raising greater awareness of the value of planning, and leading to an improved quality of life in the breathtaking Sierra Nevada region. The area is growing rapidly and, thanks to these efforts, will grow smart.

Current Topic Award: Planning and the Conservation of Places

Pittsford's Greenprint Initiative
John J. Behan, Town Planner, and Town of Pittsford
Pittsford, New York, is a brave town, which through community direction and focused thought has put into play a precedent-setting plan for permanently protecting its greenspaces. The exemplary planning initiative delicately mediates between the conservation of local identity and the transformations associated with economic and social change. The people of Pittsford were willing to act, not just dream. By choosing to tax themselves, they've created a new means to preserve hundreds of acres of farmland and a valued way of life.

Outstanding Planning Award for a Plan

Gateway to Coastal Georgia
EDAW, Inc. and Coastal Georgia Land Trust
This master plan stands as a significant advancement to the science and art of planning. Six coastal counties have been united to create a plan for a 460-mile continuous off-road greenway system linking recreation, economic centers and historic sites. The plan does more than connect the landscape; it connects the people. The system will take 20 years to complete, but due to extraordinary inter-municipal cooperation, the future for residents and tourists alike is bright.

Outstanding Planning Award for a Project/Program/Tool

Poco Way Renaissance
City of San Jose — Housing Department
This triumphant Cinderella story of an impoverished, decrepit and dangerous neighborhood's transformation is a milestone achievement to the cause of planning. For three decades, the Poco Way neighborhood was inner city housing at its worst. Today, thanks to fierce determination, thinking outside the box and extensive community collaboration, the area is reborn. This tree-lined, attractive and safe haven shows no signs of its former self. The revitalization approach has become a model for other San Jose revitalization plans, and should now be embraced nationwide.

Outstanding Planning Award for a Special Community Initiative

Youth Recreation Needs Assessment
City of Albuquerque — Department of Cultural & Recreational Services and Consensus Planning, Inc.
This inclusive initiative boldly illustrates how a community can use the planning process to address a need outside the normal sphere of planning. Albuquerque invited an overlooked segment — its junior high school students — to "recreational planning parties" in 10 middle schools, to identify through audio and video interviews their recreational needs. Through this process, the teens are helping shape their public environment, which not only will create an ideally tailored recreational system but sends a positive message to teenagers: their opinion is important.

Outstanding Planning Award for Implementation

Tennessee Riverpark
Chattanooga/Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency
Rising like the proverbial phoenix out of the ashes, Chattanooga has turned a forgotten waterfront around — returning a playground and economic vehicle to its citizens — and setting a new standard for civic renaissance. This effort demonstrates an advancement for the whole city, resulting in significant change beyond the 20 miles of riverfront. Guided by citizen vision and public/private partnership, the riverpark's new life reminds us not to lose sight of the power of scenic beauty in shaping places.

Public Education Award

Blueprint for a Sustainable Bay Area
Urban Ecology and Community Development by Design
Urban Ecology has given birth to a holistic blueprint that is helping a diverse population over a 7,600 square mile area plan for their future. This plan is different. It's a book that speaks clearly of principles that can be adapted to San Francisco's myriad of environments. It is truly a big picture with thousands of discreet elements all working together. Everyone talks about regional planning, but due to this far-reaching work, the people of the Bay area are learning how to do it.

Distinguished Leadership Award for a Professional Planner

Edward J. Logue
This urban renewal pioneer whose 40-year career laid the foundation for successful revitalization efforts in New Haven, Boston and New York, is being honored for sustained contribution to the profession through distinguished practice. In the 1960s, he changed the entire concept of planning as it was known in Boston. In the 1970s, he created a blueprint to revive the South Bronx. He's changed the regulatory processes that constrained planning and influenced public understanding of social and housing needs of low-income residents. As one of the greatest public developers of this century, he's shown the profession what to do and how to do it.

Distinguished Leadership Award for an Elected Official

Nancy R. Allen
Rutherford County, Tennessee, has the mixed blessing of being one of the fastest-growing counties in the country. Faced with the pressures this brings, County Executive Nancy R. Allen is credited with almost single-handedly quickly piloting a strategy to manage growth. She's taught the citizens that with a longer view, with a comprehensive approach, the small town charm of the area can be protected while allowing for change.

The HUD Secretary's Opportunity & Empowerment Award

East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation
For the past 16 years, the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp. has developed creative ways to repair existing housing and to build new, affordable housing to help Akron residents reach a new level of financial independence and pride. With more than 200 tax credit homes spread throughout the city, better affordable housing choices are available; in fact waiting lists to get into the units are lengthy. The corporation's efforts, slow and steady over time, weave together all the right components for measurable benefits to the families, the community and the developers.

Paul Davidoff Award for Social Advocacy

Daniel Lauber, AICP
For demonstrating a sustained social commitment to advocacy planning in support of society's less fortunate members, Mr. Lauber is highly deserving of this award. He has devoted 25 years of planning practice to devising solutions to help better the lives of those with disabilities, low- and moderate-income households, and minorities. He has written and spoken nationwide on making zoning more receptive to group homes and halfway houses; and has rallied for racial integration. He continues to be a leader in incorporating the identification of social impacts into all aspects of planning.

Diana Donald Award for Womens Advocacy

Charlotte Garrido
This award recognizes a significant contribution to planning issues related to women and the family, and to gender equity and the profession. As a newly elected commissioner in Kitsap County, Washington, a planning consultant and a teacher, Ms. Garrido brings nearly two decades of community activism and planning board service to her elected position, particularly advocating for those who are otherwise unheard. In 1995, she created a curriculum model for APA to guide workshop sessions on women and planning; and continues to research, write and make presentations — locally and internationally — espousing the highest of planning principles.

Distinguished Service Award

David J. Allor, AICP
Dr. Allor has spent much of his 30-year career working to see that citizens interested in planning have the knowledge, tools and inspiration to rise to the challenge. As a professor at the University of Cincinnati and through training planning commissioners, he is bridging the gap between planning academia and practice. His invaluable book, The Planning Commissioners Guide, and leadership as Ohio Chapter president demonstrate the highest effectiveness in furthering the cause of the American Planning Association.

Distinguished Contribution Award

Ralph R. Willmer, AICP
Mr. Willmer's quiet guidance and hard work on APA's policy committee the last two years deserves credit for much of the committee's progress. APA's policy guides — a key communication tool to lawmakers and officials — have been overhauled thanks to his extraordinary diligence. Beginning with his work as past president of the Massachusetts chapter, Mr. Willmer's long-standing interest in the legislative and environmental side of planning has greatly enhanced the profession.

Outstanding Planning Award for a Special Community Initiative

Youth Recreation Needs Assessment
City of Albuquerque Department of Cultural & Recreational Services and Consensus Planning, Inc.
This inclusive initiative boldly illustrates how a community can use the planning process to address a need outside the normal sphere of planning. Albuquerque invited an overlooked segment — its junior high students — to "recreational planning parties" in 10 middle schools, to identify, with the aid of audio and video interviews, their recreational needs. Through this process, the teens are helping shape their public environment, which not only will create an ideally tailored recreational system but sends a positive message to teenagers: their opinion is important.

Institutional Education

Kids as Planners, Kids Consortium, Inc.
South Portland, Maine
By treating kids as problem solvers, KIDS as Planners, a program of KIDS (Kids Involved Doing Service) Consortium, has demonstrated that children can make substantial contributions to their communities, even at a very young age. KIDS as Planners brings together kindergarten through high-school aged students to help communities solve real world environmental problems. The program shows teachers how they and their students can team up with local agencies and businesses to help monitor rivers, reduce non-point source pollution, develop land-use management plans, transform abandoned land into community gardens and nature trails, and promote the use of alternative transportation. Water quality analysis performed by students at Wells High School in Wells, Maine, for instance, helped convince city officials that it was safe to re-open a local swimming area and clam flat that had been closed for years. Over the past four years, more than 5,000 students, 350 teachers, and 50 schools nationwide have implemented the KIDS model.

Many gifted planners preceded us — skilled and thoughtful pathfinders with a vision for the future. Their work became the models that guide us today planning for the places in which we live, work and play. As well, numerous landmark plans in history influence planners work and inspire planners' efforts today. The American Institute of Certified Planners, APA's professional and educational arm, annually honors select planning pioneers and landmark plans whose effects significantly altered and improved the future of planning practices.

AICP National Planning Pioneer Award for Planning Practice

Carl Feiss, FAIA, AICP (1907-1997)
Architect, planner and preservationist, Mr. Feiss began his career during the New Deal and continued for 50 years in the forefront of every concern addressed by American planners from urban renewal to land conservation. He played a major role in shaping the U.S. Housing Act of 1954 to include a commitment to comprehensive community planning, and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The significance of historic places is better understood worldwide because of his work.

AICP National Planning Pioneer Award for Planning Practice/Planning Education

John Tasker Howard, AICP (1911-1995)
Mr. Howard's early work on Cleveland's first comprehensive plan in the 1940s drew national attention for truly integrating all aspects of planning beyond the physical realm. He taught at and later headed the department of city and regional planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1949 to 1973, guiding the rapid expansion of planning academia. He also served as the first president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.

AICP National Planning Landmark Award

Yorkship Village, Camden, New Jersey (1918)
Yorkship Village (now known as Fairview) is regarded as the best of the 55 housing developments undertaken by U.S. federal housing corporations during World War I to provide emergency housing for war-related industries. Guided by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and Frederick L. Ackerman, this excellent public/private partnership inspired many private sector projects of the 1920s and has positively influenced American housing and neighborhood design.

APA's membership is divided into 18 divisions by professional area of interest and nearly 50 chapters by state. Each year, select divisions and chapters are recognized through the awards program for their outstanding contributions to the association.

Karen B. Smith Chapter Awards

Outstanding Service to Members

Texas Chapter
David Gattis, president, on behalf of the TexasAPA Board of Directors and the Texas Education Foundation
Led by the results of an in-depth survey, the Lone Star chapter has reinvented itself resulting in a lean and mean customer-driven program.

Outstanding Outreach to the Community

Ohio Chapter
Ann Schenking, Ken LeBlanc, Joyce G. Braverman, Kristin Hopkins, Laurence Fronk, Caroline Andrews, Douglas Guest, Greg Dale
For 10 years of zoning workshops reaching more than 7,500 citizen and professional planners.

Overall Chapter Achievement

Massachusetts Chapter
Robert P. Mitchell, Jeanne Armstrong, Ken Buckland, Charles Greenough, Paula Habib, Chris Huntress, Barry Porter, Cara Seiderman, Terry Szold, Sharon Wason, Jack Wiggin, Ralph Willmer, Ernest Zupanzic
For its impressive newsletter, first-rate awards program and successful citizen planner training program.

Divisions Council Awards

Special Project

Private Practice Division
Mary Anne G. Bowie, AICP, Roger D. Blevins, AICP, Bradley E. Johnson, AICP, Paulette M. Carolin, AICP
For the Estimating Planning Services handbook, the first resource of its kind.

Division Achievement

Federal Planning Division
Roger D. Blevins, AICP; Jerry Zekert; John McDermon; James R. Maguire, AICP; Mary Anne G. Bowie, AICP; Rik Wiant
For overall achievement, including increasing its membership four-fold in a few years, and launching its successful federal planners workshops.

Large Newspaper

Mary Bishop and S.D. Harrington
"The Invisible Inner City"
The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, Virginia

Medium Newspaper

Christine Kreyling
Articles, plan, and charrette
The Nashville Scene, Nashville, Tennessee

Small Newspaper

Newspaper Staff
Reporting on waterfront redevelopment and regional planning
The Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, New York

Best Article

Rachelle Alterman
"The Challenge of Farmland Preservation: Lessons from a Six-Nation Comparison"
Volume 63, Number 2

Best Article — Honorable Mention

Mohammad A. Qadeer
"Pluralistic Planning for Multicultural Cities: The Canadian Practice"
Volume 63, Number 4

Best Feature

Reid Ewing
"Is Los Angeles-Style Sprawl Desirable?"
Volume 63, Number 1 (Winter 1997)

Best Feature — Honorable Mention

Peter Gordon and Harry W. Richardson
"Are Compact Cities a Desirable Planning Goal?"
Volume 63, Number 1

The Honorable Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator
Vermont

A long-time supporter of planning and environmental legislation, Senator Leahy (D) recently has fought actions that take away states' and local governments' authority on telecommunications tower siting. As Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he led the fight to block new takings legislation in the 105th Congress. He is a stalwart supporter of downtown revitalization projects and has directed major funding to related efforts in Vermont.

The Honorable Wayne T. Gilchrest
U.S. Representative
1st Congressional District, Maryland

Rep. Gilchrest has a strong record of leadership on advocating land use legislation. Last session, he voted against H.R. 1534, the takings bill allowing developers to challenge local planning decisions in federal court. As a member of the House Resources Committee, he has supported environmental bills, and in 1997 introduced The Wetlands and Watershed Management Act which encourages comprehensive watershed planning and management on local, county and regional levels.

AICP Student Project Awards

Best Demonstrates the Contribution of Planning to Contemporary Issues

"Greening Our Cities: An Analysis of the Benefits and Barriers Associated with Green Roofs"
Portland State University
Stephanie Beckman, Sev Jones, Kevin Liburdy, Connie Peters

Honorable Mention

"Strategic Revitalization Plan for the West Side Park Community of the Central Ward"
Rutgers University
Michelle Alonso, Laura V. Arce, Michael Cummings, Tim Doherty, John Fussa, Brenda Gilbert, Chris Henry, David A. Lewis, Dan McGuire, Toshiko Nagazumi, Zofia Nowakowksi, Melina Patterson, Alle Ries, Mike Roedig

Best Applying the Planning Process

"The Frenchtown I.D.E.A.L. Housing Project: Infill Housing"
Florida State University
Petal Alexis, Linda Fisher, Philip Lazzara, Kandace Lewis, Dawn McDonald, Charlotte Moore, Ryan O'Gara, Marni Pomeroy, Arleen Sheehan, Cyrus Sheik, Marcus Wilner

Honorable Mention

"American Samoa Village Planning Project"
University of Hawaii, Manoa
Michael Cain, Antoinette Konia Freitas, Steven Kay, Schichao Li, Richard Quinn, Dean Seneca, Ross Stephenson, Kris Matsumoto Wong, Herman Tuiolosega

Individual Award

"Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles Information Communication"
Danny Krouk, University of California, Los Angeles

Government Consulting

Key West Land Development Code
Les Solin and Associates

Private Sector Consulting

Kohala Mountain Camps
Thomas Yamamoto, Inc.