The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) announces five finalists for its 2017 Gold and Silver medal prizes. The Gold Medalist will receive $50,000 and four Silver Medalists will each receive $10,000 to enhance their projects. Celebrating more than 30 years of urban excellence, RBA is a biennial design award recognizing transformative places that contribute to the economic, environmental, and social vitality of American cities. Seventy-eight projects in 27 states have been honored since its founding.

The 2019 RBA finalists

Beyond Walls— Lynn, MA

Grassroots public art and lighting initiative revitalizing a former industrial city.

(Submitted by Beyond Walls)

Image courtesy of Warren Jagger

Buffalo Bayou Park—Houston, TX

Enhancement of a historic waterway into a resilient public greenspace.

(Submitted by SWA Group)

Image courtesy of Jonnu Singleton

Crosstown Concourse—Memphis, TN

Rehabilitation of an abandoned Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution center into a mixed-use vertical village and arts, education, and healthcare destination.

(Submitted by Crosstown Arts)

Image courtesy of Chad Mellon

Parisite Skatepark—New Orleans, Louisiana

Youth-driven DIY creation of a new public park on vacant land beneath a highway.

(Submitted by Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, and Tulane School of Architecture’s Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design)

Image courtesy of Michael Wong

Sulphur Springs Downtown—Sulphur Springs, TX

Renewal of a rural, small-town civic plaza and main street.

(Submitted by Toole Design Group)

Image courtesy of Cindy Roller

RBA entries comprise completed projects across the contiguous United States. Finalists and medalists are chosen by a nationwide committee of urban experts through an in-depth evaluation process involving input from the award application, site visits, interviews with project participants and community members, and committee discussions.