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AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT |
The Home Depot Foundation’s Awards of Excellence for Sustainable Community Development recognizes public-private partnerships that have successfully developed projects and/or initiatives that promote and exemplify a more sustainable community. Truly sustainable projects take a holistic, integrated approach, whereby sustainability planning, affordable housing and the creation of green spaces and planting of trees are inextricably linked.
2010 marks the second year of this award and because of this, the Awards of Excellence program for Sustainable Community Development is only being made available to cities that are either a member of the Urban Sustainability Director’s Network (USDN) or a member of the National League of Cities (NLC). The NLC membership that is targeted includes cities that participated in the 2009 NLC Green Conference or participate in specific sustainability-related committees.
Projects/initiatives that qualify for the Awards of Excellence in Sustainable Community Development program exhibit thoughtful and holistic planning and construction of a neighborhood/community. They include city government and community participation, a deliberate public/private partnership, an element of green affordable housing and tree plantings/green space development. The projects/initiatives have addressed implementation of the City’s comprehensive sustainability plan and to have gone beyond to address overarching community issues. These projects have contributed to creating a stronger connection among the community and addressed many of the broad scale issues as listed below:
- Storm water management and green infrastructure
- Economic development & jobs creation
- Reduction of urban heat island effect
- Carbon reduction strategies
- Abandoned and foreclosed properties
- Pedestrian friendliness
- Traffic calming & streetscape
- Transit oriented development
- Resident health and quality of life
- And/or other overarching community issues
Award Categories:
The Awards of Excellence go to both the cities and their non-profit partners representing the partnership that completed the local initiative. The Foundation will recognize two National Winners (large city and small city), two National Runner-ups (large city and small city) and up to three Honorable Mentions, including providing grants outlined below to the City’s non-profit partner in each winning project:
- National Winner - $75,000 grant (1-Large City & 1-Small City)
- National Runner-up - $25,000 grant (1-Large City & 1-Small City)
- Honorable Mention - $2,500 grant each
The grants are to be used at the discretion of the non-profit to further the sustainability goals of the community.
