The Urban Land Institute Tuesday announced it is now accepting entries for its Urban Open Space Award, an annual program that recognizes outstanding examples of successful large- and small-scale public spaces that have socially enriched and revitalized the economy of their surrounding communities.

Entries will be accepted until February 22.  Early bird deadline January 22.

To be eligible for the competition, an open space project must have been opened to the public for at least one year and no more than 15 years; be predominantly outdoors and inviting to the public; provide abundant and varied seating, sun and shade, trees and plantings with attractions; be used intensively on a daily basis by a broad spectrum of users throughout the year; have a positive economic impact on its surroundings; promote physical, social, and economic health of the larger community; and provide lessons, strategies, and techniques that can be used or adapted in other communities.

The award was created through the generosity of Amanda M. Burden, former New York City planning commissioner and 2009 laureate of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. 

In 2011, the Kresge Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and the ULI Foundation joined forces to continue the award. Last year, ULI reaffirmed its commitment to the award and announced it would expand the program to include global submissions.

Juries of ULI Full Members, chaired by ULI Trustees, choose finalists and winner. Jury members represent many fields of real estate development expertise, including finance, land planning, development, public affairs, design, and other professional services. They also represent a broad geographic diversity.

Finalists for the awards will be announced in the summer of 2016. The winner will be honored October 5-8, 2016 at the ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas.

Online entry forms and complete information on eligibility and requirements are available at the ULI Urban Open Space Award webpage.  For more information, send an email to: awards@uli.org.

12/7/2015