The 2001 winners made their cities better places to live and work and represent important models of urban placemaking.

Placemaking for Change: the 2001 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence includes detailed case studies and lessons learned about the winning projects including:

  • Village of Arts and Humanities in Phildelphia, Pennslyvania
    A community revitalization program using art as vehicle for engagement and change
  • Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York, New York
    A museum sharing the stories of immigrants to promote dialogue and tolerance
  • New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey
    A downtown arts center supporting cultural and economic renewal
  • South Platte River Greenway in Denver, Colorado
    Reclamation of a polluted river to create a recreational greenway
  • Swan’s Marketplace in Oakland, California
    A multicultural mixed-use community gathering place with housing, commercial, and arts-based spaces

Lessons Learned themes include:

  • Art as an Engine for Urban Redevelopment
  • Preservation and Conservation of Places and Values
  • Place as a Vehicle for Social Change
  • Nature and the Urban Experience
  • The Benefits and Limitations of Scale in an Addressing Urban Problems
  • Leadership, Vision, and Sustainable Urban Change
  • Public, Nonprofit, and Private Partnership