The United Nations will convene Habitat II--The City Summit--in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1996 to address problems of rapid urbanization and to initiate worldwide action to improve shelter and living environments. Twenty years ago the first Habitat Conference focused on the issues of urban and rural settlements. This summit will provide government representatives, political and social leaders, experts in housing and construction, and community development organizations from 180 member nations with an opportunity to develop new approaches to the management, financing, design, and guidance of housing and urban growth.
In support of this conference and to focus attention on the inherent strengths in our communities, the United States National Preparatory Committee (NPC) for Habitat II is sponsoring the National Excellence Awards for the City Summit. The Committee seeks to identify and celebrate actions, initiatives, or projects that represent outstanding examples of creative problem-solving that lead to the improvement in the quality of urban life. These innovations may serve as useful models from which others could learn and which they could adapt to their own situations.
Participants will be nationally honored and finalists will be showcased in a case studies presentation at the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul.
Awards Eligibility
The competition is open to all government, nonprofit, and private organizations, associations, agencies, and firms. To be eligible for the National Excellence Awards for the City Summit, the nomination must:
Have been in operation for at least 2 years prior to the application deadline;
Have covered one or more of the issue areas listed below; and
Demonstrate a practical course of action.
Award-winning entries will likely be profound changes that will encourage further creativity and innovation.
Awards Scope and Sectors
Nominated programs may range in scale from the neighborhood/community to the city to the entire metropolitan area and may be initiated by public, private, or voluntary sectors. Innovations implemented in partnership across sectors and across traditional policy areas will receive special consideration.
Issue Areas
Since one of the barriers to urban problem solving has been the fragmentation and isolation of issue areas, we encourage the submission of innovations that integrate areas of basic community concern, such as:
Poverty Alleviation
Economic Development
Social Infrastructure and Services
Environmental Regeneration
Physical Infrastructure and Services
National Hazard Management/Mitigation
Housing
Land Use and Urban Planning
Urban Governance
Social and Cultural Vitality
Application Deadline
Completed applications for the National Excellence Awards for the City Summit must be physically received at the Habitat II Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 9060, Gaithersburg, MD 20898-9060, no later than 4:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, Monday, October 16, 1995.
The United Nations will convene Habitat II--The City Summit--in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1996 to address problems of rapid urbanization and to initiate worldwide action to improve shelter and living environments. Twenty years ago the first Habitat Conference focused on the issues of urban and rural settlements. This summit will provide government representatives, political and social leaders, experts in housing and construction, and community development organizations from 180 member nations with an opportunity to develop new approaches to the management, financing, design, and guidance of housing and urban growth.