APA Recognizes 2024 National Planning Award Winners

For more than 50 years, the National Planning Awards have elevated exemplary planning work in communities across the country.

"This year's recipients showcase the visionary work that planners are leading to address complex challenges and create more inclusive, thriving communities," said Emily Liu, FAICP, 2024 APA awards jury chair. "The jury was deeply impressed by the innovative solutions and commitment to making lasting impacts in public health, environmental resilience, equitable housing, and sustainable transportation."

Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan

NEWARK360: SHAPING OUR CITY TOGETHER

Newark, New Jersey 

Newark, New Jersey, one of the nation's oldest and most diverse communities, is embracing its future through the Newark360: Shaping Our City Together. The plan aims to accommodate growth while maintaining community integrity, inclusivity, and resiliency. 

The plan's policies specifically address inequities such as escalating housing costs, air quality issues, and lack of well-paying jobs. It is rooted in neighborhoods where citywide policies will have the most visible impact. 

Recognizing the need to include voices historically excluded from planning processes, the planning team translated materials into Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole to ensure all Newark residents could participate. Initiatives such as the Story Bus, youth involvement through the City Planning Institute, and neighborhood workshops held in each ward built broad community engagement. 

Due to Newark being ranked as the nation's second-worst heat island, the planning team prioritized environmental resilience by calling for the expansion of green roofs and an enhanced tree canopy, backed by an $8 million urban forestry grant from the U.S. Forest Service. 

Zoning reforms through NZLUR (Newark Zoning and Land Use Regulations) have increased the supply of mixed-use and affordable housing, allowing for three-family homes and taller buildings near transit hubs. Upzoning of commercial corridors further aims to strengthen local businesses and support more affordable housing options.

Jury said: "The plan exemplifies how to engage a highly diverse community through a planning process that empowers residents, addresses inequities, and promotes solutions to environmental and racial justice issues." 

Advancing Diversity and Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff

Equity-Based Long-Range Plan

Austin Independent School District & DLR Group; Adisa Comms; Vanir CM, Inc.; Wright Enterprise Group
Austin, Texas

The Austin ISD Equity-Based Long-Range Plan recognized that school planning is integral to both community and neighborhood planning, with a focus on supporting students, schools, and local communities.

Over 100 community members — including students, staff, and families — contributed more than 120 hours and participated in over 40 committee meetings to co-create the plan. Additionally, one-on-one and small-group interviews were conducted with over 900 individuals to understand what was and was not working, as well as what would improve their child's experience.

Austin ISD's Office for Organizational Transformation (formerly the Office) developed the Equity by Design process, which engaged underserved communities to make decisions with — not for — these communities. The objective was to shift power in the decision-making process toward those most impacted by district decisions, creating a more transparent, community-driven approach.

The equity-based approach successfully secured support for Austin ISD's largest-ever bond program: a $2.4 billion initiative that will fund 30 transformative projects along with many smaller-scale maintenance upgrades and facility improvements across remaining schools. Through an equity-based lens, the plan not only addressed critical facility needs but also incorporated strategies to improve district-wide operations to achieve greater equitable outcomes for historically and currently underserved students within Austin ISD.

Jury said: "The plan broke new ground in school planning, offering innovative and replicable solutions for communities facing similar challenges."

Resilience & Sustainability Award

Resilient Jacksonville

City of Jacksonville; The Water Institute; SCAPE; Fernleaf; Halff; ADG
Jacksonville, Florida

Recognizing that no storm is the same in Jacksonville and risks are continuing to evolve, the Resilient Jacksonville plan provides a roadmap for adapting to climate change, managing population growth, and guiding urban development in the largest city by land area in the continental United States.

Guided by a long history of planning efforts and lessons learned from Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, the plan combines local expertise with science-based methods to inform current decisions and prioritize investments, helping to build a more resilient Jacksonville for the future.

The plan identifies vulnerabilities across the city's vast landscape, which includes 747 square miles of land and over 1,500 miles of shoreline. By exploring how development types and geography influence neighborhood risk and vulnerability to hazards like flooding and extreme heat, this resilience strategy provides the city with targeted, scalable actions for strengthening Jacksonville's resilience.

Survey results from local students revealed that 83 percent are concerned about climate change, with many experiencing disruptions from flooding and heat. By incorporating youth perspectives, the strategy ensures that future generations are represented in the city's plans for resilience.

Since the release of Resilient Jacksonville in October 2023, Jacksonville has already made considerable progress on many resilience actions outlined in the strategy.

Jury said: "The plan showcases a comprehensive and thorough approach to resilience, utilizing an intersectional strategy that addresses climate change adaptation at multiple scales — from the regional scale all the way to the scale of the block."

Planning Excellence Award

Reimagine Middle Branch Plan

Field Operations; City of Baltimore; South Baltimore Gateway Partnership
South Baltimore, Maryland

South Baltimore's 19 neighborhoods are reconnecting to their 11-mile waterfront on the Patapsco River, thanks to the Reimagine Middle Branch Plan.

Unanimously approved by the Baltimore City Planning Commission in February 2023, the plan adopted an implementation strategy that provides a roadmap for transforming not only the physical landscape but also the social fabric of South Baltimore.

Building on previous initiatives, the planning team prioritized community collaboration, recruiting 150 residents and technical experts to serve on advisory committees. The plan's Community Advisory Committee included community leaders from each of the 19 neighborhoods in the plan's study area, serving as trusted liaisons to ensure the alignment of priorities with residents of South Baltimore.

The plan comprises 40 projects aimed at improving the environment, catalyzing economic growth, activating parks and open spaces, and celebrating the area's cultural heritage. These efforts have attracted over $175 million in funding, demonstrating a strong commitment to transforming South Baltimore's waterfront into an inclusive space for all.

Jury said: "The scope of the plan is massive — and connecting neighborhoods with the waterfront at its core is an equity issue."

Top image: Montage of the 2024 National Planning Award recipients.