09/25/2015

PRESS RELEASE:

APA OHIO PRESENTS 2015 OHIO PLANNING AWARDS

APA OHIO PRESENTS 2015 OHIO PLANNING AWARDS
Seven community planning projects, organizations and individuals recognized for outstanding efforts across Ohio

TOLEDO (September 25, 2015) – The Ohio Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Ohio) is pleased to announce winners of the 2015 Ohio Planning Awards. The biennial awards program is designed to recognize outstanding plans and projects, and people doing excellent work in the planning field in Ohio.

APA Ohio presented the following awards at the 2015 APA Ohio Planning Conference in Toledo on September 25. APA Ohio President Todd Kinskey, AICP, Director of the Hamilton County Planning & Development Department noted that this group of award recipients “exemplifies the diversity and high quality of community planning work happening all around the state.”

• Comprehensive Planning / Large Jurisdiction: University District Plan, City of Columbus Planning Division
• Comprehensive Planning / Small Jurisdiction: Bowling Green Improvement Plan: Meeting the Needs of Today and Tomorrow, City of Bowling Green
• Focused Planning Project: The Essence of Athens, City of Athens; Designing Local; and MKSK
• Focused Built Project: Long Street Bridge and Cultural Wall, MKSK
• Outstanding Planner: Greg Dale, FAICP
• Outstanding Community Planning: Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities
• Planning Students: Columbus Rail Studio, The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture Fall 2014 Undergraduate Studio

Twenty-three nominations were received in 7 categories. Award nominations were reviewed and winners selected by a jury of professional planners from the APA Michigan Chapter. Evaluation criteria include innovation and creativity, transferability and public participation. Jury chair Gautam Mani, AICP, a planner at the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission, stated “there were a lot of excellent nominations from Ohio this year, and the decisions were extremely difficult in many cases. So many of the ideas are applicable to communities here in Michigan and beyond.”

About APA Ohio:
APA Ohio is a statewide, non-profit association of citizens and professional planners committed to promoting and enhancing planning and the quality of planning for all governmental entities in order to maintain and improve the quality of life for all Ohioans. APA Ohio is a state chapter of the American Planning Association (APA). APA Ohio operates under the guidance of a volunteer Board of Trustees elected from the general membership. Chapter sections include Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Miami Valley and Northwest. Visit www.ohioplanning.org for additional information.