National Planning Awards 2015

The APA National Planning Awards Jury selected 17 Excellence award recipients for 2015. The recipients were honored at the Awards Luncheon at APA's National Planning Conference in Seattle in April. Read more about each of this year's Excellence recipients. In addition to the Excellence awards, the jury also selected 12 Achievement Award recipients.

National Planning Excellence Awards

Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan​

Vibrant NEO 2040

Northeast Ohio

HUD Secretary's Opportunity & Empowerment Award

Mueller Redevelopment

Austin, Texas

National Planning Excellence Award for a Best Practice

First Last Mile Strategic Plan & Planning Guidelines

Los Angeles, California

National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation

Green City, Clean Waters: Philadelphia's 21st Century Green Stormwater Infrastructure Program

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

National Planning Excellence Award for Public Outreach

Making Planning Public: Newark Zoning Workshop

Newark, New Jersey

National Planning Excellence Award for a Communications Initiative

Boston Complete Streets Design Guidelines

Boston, Massachusetts

National Planning Excellence Award for Transportation Planning

moveDC

Washington, D.C.

National Planning Excellence Award for Environmental Planning

Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan

Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard Parishes

National Planning Excellence Award for Economic Planning & Development

Phase 1 Glenwood Refinement Plan

Springfield, Oregon

National Planning Excellence Award for Urban Design

The BIG U

New York, New York

Pierre L'Enfant International Planning Excellence Award

Tecnologico de Monterrey Urban Regeneration Plan

Monterrey, Mexico

Advancing Diversity & Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff

State Representative Harold Mitchell, Jr. and the ReGenesis Project

Spartanburg, South Carolina

National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Advocate

Supervisor Greg Cox

San Diego County, California

National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm

Perkins+Will

San Francisco, California

National Planning Excellence Award for an Emerging Planning & Design Firm

Raimi + Associates

Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Riverside, California

National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Agency

Maryland Department of Planning

Maryland

National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Pioneer

Donald Shoup, FAICP

Los Angeles, California

2015 Awards Jury

The jury is tasked with reviewing all of the award entries and identifying the ones worthy of receiving a national honor and recognition.

Jury Chair

W. Shedrick Coleman

W. Shedrick Coleman is principal of SHEDDarchitecture. He currently serves as chairman of the Chatham County–Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) in Georgia. He is serving his second term as Director at Large on the American Planning Association's Board of Directors. Coleman is a licensed architect in the state of Georgia and has more than 20 years of experience in the architecture and planning professions. He serves on the Coastal Region MPO and the Savannah College of Art & Design School of Architecture Design Review Council. He received his architectural education from Cornell University.

Jury Member

Vince Bertoni, AICP

Vince Bertoni was appointed director of the Pasadena, California, Planning & Community Development Department in 2011. He oversees community planning services, design and historic preservation, zoning, arts and cultural affairs, and green city programs. Bertoni previously managed planning operations of the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. He served as director of community development in Beverly Hills, interim director of planning and building services in Santa Clarita, and interim planning director in Malibu. He has also worked as a city planner and principal of a consulting firm. Bertoni holds a BA in transportation and urban geography from San Diego State University.

Jury Member

Regina Gray

Regina Gray is an analyst for the Division of Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division in the Office of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since joining HUD in 2000, her research activities have focused on sustainable development, urban design and land use planning, transit oriented development, energy and green building practices, and affordable housing preservation. She also collaborates with other federal agencies on sustainability initiatives, and is involved in interagency efforts. Gray holds a bachelor's degree from Emory University, a master's degree from George Washington University, and a doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jury Member

Cedric Bradford Glover

Cedric Bradford Glover was elected Shreveport, Louisiana's, 47th mayor in November 2006 and was re-elected four years later. Glover has built a diverse leadership team to advance his agenda to make Shreveport "the next great city of the South" through the implementation of several new and innovative projects and policies. Glover's approach to local government has resulted in planning initiatives that include the Shreveport-Caddo "Great Expectations" Master Plan 2030, the city's first comprehensive master plan since 1957; Shreveport Common, creating a cultural arts district on the southeast side of downtown; and Cross Bayou Corridor, a major historic area with redevelopment potential.

Jury Member

Eliza Harris

Eliza Harris is a principal at Canin Associates in downtown Orlando, Florida. She led a multi-county GIS and design effort for the metro Orlando MPO Long Range Transportation Plan that introduced land use as an important variable to improve transportation efficiency while contributing to sustainability and quality of life. She also assists private clients in visioning, entitling, and coding mixed-use communities. Harris is engaged in smart growth issues locally and nationally and currently serves on the board of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Harris discovered her passion for the workings of the urban environment while studying biochemical sciences at Harvard University. She completed a master's degree in urban planning at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.

Jury Member

Jennifer Henry

Jennifer Henry leads the strategic planning and analytics team at the Chicago Transit Authority, with a focus on bus planning and facility improvement. Previously Henry worked in the nonprofit sector on a variety of projects, policies, and advocacy efforts relating to transportation and land use. This included work with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York City and time at the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, D.C. Henry holds a Master of Urban Planning degree from New York University and a B.A. in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She grew up in DeKalb, Illinois, and her formative planning experience was watching the rapid growth of the Chicago suburbs.