The 1997 winners illustrate that making an excellent urban place requires a vision, a dream, the invention of a new concept or the combination of elements in a way new previously tried.

Visions of Urban Excellence: the 1997 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence includes detailed case studies and lessons learned about the winning projects including:

  • The Times Square in New York, New York
    Rehabilitation of a historic high-rise hotel into supportive low-income housing
  • Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas
    Historic shotgun-style homes repurposed for housing, art, and community services
  • Hismen Hin-nu in Oakland, California
    A multi-cultural affordable housing and retail development celebrating heritage and diversity
  • Center in the Square in Roanoke, Virginia
    A warehouse repurposed to house and support the local arts community
  • Cleveland Historic Warehouse District in Cleveland, Ohio
    Historic warehouses transformed into public and private multi-use spaces

Lessons Learned themes include:

  • Vision
  • Art in the City
  • Quality of Place
  • Preservation as a Strategy for Change
  • Public/Private Collaboration
  • Adapting New Models of Urban Placemaking
  • Sustaining Urban Excellence