The 48th International Making Cities Livable Conference
Charleston, SC
October 17-21, 2010
will include a special EXHIBIT and emphasis on
SUCCESSFUL SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTHY, & CHILD-FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES
Cities and municipalities, urban designers, landscape architects, transportation planners, architects, planners, and land use developers are invited to submit proposals for an exhibit of Successful Solutions for Healthy, and Child-Friendly Communities.
Exhibits must include an example (or examples) of place-based designs. They may also include examples of organizational strategies, but that does not replace the requirement for a place-based design.
Examples of Place-Based Designs to Achieve Healthy, Child-Friendly Communities
- GREEN PLACES where children can INTERACT WITH NATURE in a variety of ways. For example:
- Nature classrooms where children can experience, observe, name & contemplate nature
- Natural playgrounds where children can engage in active play
- Community gardens where children learn stewardship of natural resources
- Wild natural areas that children can explore, for adventure & fantasy
- PLAZAS, STREETS & SQUARES where children can INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY in a variety of ways, learn essential social skills, be intellectually stimulated and receive emotional support. For example:
- Community squares where children interact on a daily basis with diverse people in the community
- Lively human scale streets where children are greeted by familiar adults, watched over by "eyes on the street"
- Hospitable town plazas where children participate in community festivals, farmers markets, etc
- SAFE ROUTES FOR PEDESTRIANS & BICYCLISTS, that permit children to ACCESS NATURE & COMMUNITY independently on a daily basis. For example:
- Traffic-free routes, continuous pedestrian networks, paths and greenways that children can negotiate on their own to get to school and around their neighborhood
- Traffic-calmed routes with wide sidewalks, raised crossings, roundabouts, medians, etc that allow children free range to explore their neighborhood
- Dedicated bike networks and safe bike routes that allow children greater independence across a larger realm
- Public transit that enables children and youth to access the town or city center independently.
- WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS that are human scale, stimulating, and child-friendly. For example:
- A compact neighborhood with small blocks and mixed use enabling children to live within walking or biking distance of school, shops, community places and nature spaces
- A built environment with beauty, harmony in diversity, complexity and detail, particularly at a child's eye level, stimulating curiosity and imagination
- Public art and water features that facilitate play, teach children about their community, and engage their affection
- Neighborhood schools that serve a variety of age groups and community functions
Examples of organizational strategies related to place-based designs
- Programs that involve children in nature study, or in protecting/restoring local natural resources
- Community garden projects
- Mentoring programs that give children experience of varied life styles, occupations and community groups
- Youth participation in neighborhood improvement
- Organized regular events (e.g. farmers' markets, community festivals) that ensure active social life in public and development of cross-generational social networks
- Child-advocates and participants in achieving walkable streets
- Community public arts programs that involve children in creating public art
- Multi-use school programs that bring the community together
- Walk & bike to school programs
Exhibit Categories
Category One: Single project
Exhibits in this category focus on one place-based solution for making healthy and child-friendly communities. For example, a bicycle network, or a nature classroom
Category Two: Interrelated projects
Exhibits in this category focus on two or more interrelated place-based solutions for making healthy and child-friendly communities. They may also include related organizational strategies. For example: area-wide traffic calming, pedestrian networks and walk to school programs
Category Three: Neighborhood projects
Exhibits in this category illustrate many interrelated place-based solutions for making healthy and child-friendly communities. They may also include related organizational strategies. For example: different kinds of community places and nature spaces within walking distance for many neighborhood children; wide sidewalks and traffic calming; and children's participation in community beautification projects
Eligibility
To be eligible for inclusion in the Exhibit and Awards Program, projects must have been completed within the last ten years, and be in use.
To be eligible for inclusion in the Exhibit ONLY, projects in design or construction may be submitted. They must be real projects commissioned with the intention to build.
To be accepted for the exhibit and to qualify for an award the following criteria must be fulfilled:
All place-based design projects must show evidence of:
- Contribution to physical or social health, and/or child development
- Service to a substantial population (particularly children) within 10 minute walking radius
- Contact with nature and/or community, or provide a hospitable, stimulating built environment for children
Organizational strategies, if included, must be related to the place-based design projects
All selected projects will be exhibited at the conference. Awards will be made only for outstanding projects completed within the last ten years and already in use. Winning projects will be promoted on the IMCL website, www.LivableCities.org.
Application Deadlines
February 1, 2010 – Extended to February 15 Deadline for application form, application fee ($195) & preliminary Electronic Exhibit of all projects submitted for the Exhibit and Awards program.
April 1, 2010 Applicants notified of acceptance
June 1, 2010 Deadline for registration of representative at the 48th IMCL Conference, Charleston
July 31, 2010 Deadline for final version of Electronic Exhibits of completed projects already in use (eligible for the Awards program). Beginning August 1 these Electronic Exhibits will be evaluated by the Awards Committee.
October 17, 2010 Exhibitors mount their Exhibit Boards in the Dock Street Theater, Charleston, where conference plenary sessions will take place. Exhibits will be on display until noon, October 21
October 19, 2010 Awards will be announced and presented to representatives of completed projects at the Discussion Dinner/Awards Ceremony.
Please note exhibit space is limited. In case of over-subscription, early submissions will receive priority.
Application Guidelines
- WHO CAN ENTER. Cities and municipalities, urban designers, landscape architects, transportation planners, architects, planners, and land use developers may enter one or more projects.
- QUALIFYING PROJECTS. To quality for the EXHIBIT, projects may be in use, or in design, but must be real projects commissioned with the intention to build.
To qualify for the AWARDS program, the project must be in use, constructed or restored within the last ten years.
There are no restrictions as to where the projects may be located.
- APPLICATION PROCEDURE. Application form and application fee must be submitted to Exhibit/Awards Chair, Suzanne Crowhurst Lennard before February 15, 2010. Payment may also be made electronically. Electronic Exhibit must be sent as a Power Point presentation (max. 10MB, 10 slides) plus a one-page Word document before February 15 using the Exhibitor Submission form.
- ELECTRONIC EXHIBIT. Note: The preliminary Electronic Exhibit will be used to evaluate the eligibility of the project for the Exhibit program. The Electronic Exhibit for projects that are completed and eligible for the Awards Program may be modified and resubmitted until July 31 when the Exhibit Awards Committee will begin judging. Their decision will be finalized by September 30.
- The one-page Word document should provide the following information: Category of project. Name, location & address of project (as shown on application form). An explanation of the project philosophy and/or design criteria leading to the final design and design elements.
- The PowerPoint file (max. 10MB, 10 slides) should present:
- Drawings or photographs showing evidence of varied uses by children and adults (e.g. for exercise, access, play, adventure, social life, study). (For final Electronic Exhibit in the Awards Program, this must be shown in photographs, not drawings.)
- Site plans, showing activity areas, landscaping, urban design, natural features or architectural elements as relevant
- Estimate of population size living within 10 minute walking distance
- Conditions of street walkability for access by all ages within this catchment population
- Explanation of how the design contributes to health and/or child development
To maintain anonymity in judging, the following information must NOT be included in the Power Point presentation, or in the Word document: Name or logo of submitting agency or firm, contact name, address, telephone number and email address, client, master planner, architect, developer. All of this identifying information is included on the application form, which is not reviewed by the Awards Committee.
- CONFERENCE REGISTRATION. One or more representatives must be present at the Conference to mount Exhibit Boards and to discuss the project with conference delegates. Representatives of projects in use (eligible for Awards) must also be present at the Awards Ceremony. Registration fee for all exhibitors is reduced to US$444.50. This includes Conference Luncheon, Discussion Dinner/Awards Ceremony, receptions, and full conference participation. After your exhibit proposal has been accepted, you may register for the conference using the Registration form.
- FORMAT FOR EXHIBIT BOARDS AT IMCL CONFERENCE. The project must be presented on two boards, each 30"x30". Exhibits will be mounted on easels. The following identifying information may be included, since judging will have been completed before the Exhibit Boards are mounted: name and logo of submitting agency or firm, contact name, address, telephone number and email address, client, urban designer, landscape architect, master planner, architect, developer.
- CRITERIA FOR AWARDS. The Exhibit Awards Committee will pay special attention to design projects in each category that show convincing evidence that one or more of the following goals have been met outstandingly well (goals are not listed in any particular order of importance or preference):
- Encourage children's everyday physical exercise and active outdoor play
- Improve children's access to nature and/or community
- Increase children's independence and self-confidence
- Support interaction between children and community members of all ages in the public realm
- Stimulate children's curiosity and affection for the natural, social and built environment
- Challenge children to explore and be adventurous
- Foster caring, responsible behavior towards others in the community and towards nature
- Stimulate imagination, creativity and fantasy
- Generate delight, playfulness and enjoyment of life
- Support teenagers' need for contact with the larger community
- Stimulate children's intellectual development and understanding of the world around them
- Increase children's and young people's sense that they are valued members of the community
Note: irrefutable proof is not required that these goals are met, but photographs, together with the design information and explanation are expected to build a convincing body of evidence.
The Awards Committee believes that all IMCL award-worthy projects, in addition to satisfying the above criteria, should be well-designed, carefully made and beautiful additions and/or improvements to the city fabric, contributing to the character of the place and the overall quality of the urban environment.
- WINNING EXHIBITS: The exhibits eligible for awards will be reviewed at the Awards Dinner, where Commendations and Awards will be presented to the exhibit representatives. Winning exhibits will be promoted on the IMCL website.
Exhibit Awards Committee Members:
Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, Regierungspräsident (Governor), South Baden;
Edoardo Salzano, Dean, School of Urban Planning, Venice University;
Tom Martineau, Prof. of Architecture, Florida A&M University;
Ferd Johns, Prof. Emeritus of Architecture, Montana State University;
Borzou Rahimi, Construction Supervisor, Community Redevelopment Agency, Los Angeles;
Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard, Director, IMCL Conferences.
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“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.”
