Individual Awards

Dietmar Hahlweg, Mayor of Erlangen, Germany from 1972 to 1996, received the IMCL Award in 1991. When first running for election, his slogan was "Green in Erlangen", a promise that he fulfilled by making Erlangen a model ecological city. From replacing asphalt streets with paving set in sand to permit rain percolation, to a groundbreaking recycling system, district heating, and city-wide traffic calming, Erlangen led the way. Mayor Hahlweg's greatest passion was to promote the bicycle as a means of transportation, creating a bicycle network of 175 kilometers through the city.

HRH The Prince of Wales received the first IMCL "Lewis Mumford Award" in 1991 for championing city livability and appropriate human-scale architecture. He called for architecture that enhanced local character, and for planning practices that prioritized quality of everyday life over movement of vehicles and separation of functions. While incurring the wrath of architects who see architecture as a form of self-expression, and planners who believe in "modern" zoning principles, the Prince raised the public debate to a national and international level.

Other individuals who have received IMCL Awards include: Congressman Earl Blumenauer (Lewis Mumford Award); Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Charleston, SC, USA; Mayor Bob Cools, Antwerp, Belgium; Mayor Daniel Kemmis, Missoula, MT, USA; Richard Louv (first Jane Jacobs Award); Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH (first Henry L. Lennard Award); Wolf von Eckardt; William H. Whyte; Rod Hackney, FRIBA

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.”