City of Vision Awards

Freiburg, Germany received the IMCL City of Vision Award in 1993 for their committment to principles of livability and sustainability in all planning and urban design issues. The creation of an extensive pedestrian zone in the old city, enhanced with paving, streams, a daily farmers market, and appropriate human-scale, mixed-use architecture ensures the city's vitality. Dedication to promoting walking, biking, and public transit links to surrounding neighborhoods and cities has dramatically reduced car use. Planning coordination among cities and towns in the Germany-France-Switzerland Upper Rhine region established sustainable regional planning principles that curbed sprawn and big box retail, thus ensuring the cities' economic vitality and protecting agricultural productivity.

Other cities that have received the IMCL Livable Cities Award include: Ravensburg, Germany; Strasbourg, France; Tuebingen, Germany; Portland, OR, USA

Please Join Us!

At the 49th Conference on Planning Healthy Communities for All in Portland, OR, May 20-24, 2012. See Call for Papers.

"The conference was one of the most interesting and genuinely useful for information gathering that I’ve been to. The different backgrounds of the participants addressing the same issues was the key."

Joe Anglin Glatting Lopez Kercher Anglin

"A wonderful Conference. I truly believe this is the best Conference on cities."

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., City of Charleston

"The most important continuous conference dialogue on making the world's cities and towns more livable for all of their inhabitants."

Dr. Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, Governor, State of South Baden, Germany

"Congratulations for your extraordinary and successful effort. The Conference holds a magnifying glass to the world’s best cities, revealing why, and how they work."

Benjamin Thompson, FAIA AIA Gold Medalist

"Love for our cities unites all of us in this unique, impressive conference, with participants from different countries, with different professional backgrounds, but with one purpose: making our cities more livable."

Antonio Casellati Former Mayor, City of Venice, Italy

"Thank you for the utterly fascinating conference in Santa Fe... It has been a long time since I have been intellectually stimulated and been involved with such international creativity and innovations. The conference energized me and I was able to bring back ideas and information to my city."

Councilmember Stephanie Karlin, Avondale, AZ

"What an amazing conference! One of the best professional events I have ever attended!! Well-structured, extremely well-organized and super-high quality of both the presenters and materials presented."

Dr. Mirela Newman, Coordinator, Urban Studies Graduate Program, S Conn St. University

The Forgotten Child

“There is no topic more crucial to the well-being of our cities and of our democracy, and no one more qualified to give it the thoughtful attention it deserves.”