March 5, 2012

Conference of Mayors Vice President Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter has been selected as the second recipient of the Joseph P. Riley Jr. Award for Leadership in Urban Design from the The American Architectural Foundation (AAF) and The United States Conference of Mayors. Nutter will be honored at the 23rd annual Accent on Architecture Gala on March 9 in Washington (DC).

In selecting Nutter for the award, AAF and the Conference of Mayors emphasized the design leadership that he has demonstrated in transforming Philadelphia into a city focused on smart design and sustainability. Highlights of Nutter’s accomplishments include:

• Philadelphia2035: In 2008, Nutter tasked the Philadelphia City Planning Commission with developing a comprehensive and achievable overhaul of the city’s approach to planning. The newly-adopted Philadelphia2035 Comprehensive Plan provides strategic planning to align with the city’s overhauled zoning code. Resident outreach through the innovative Citizens Planning Institute keeps citizens informed and involved in the planning process.

• GreenWorksPhiladelphia: In 2009, Nutter launched this initiative to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the U.S. Investments to date include receiving a $25 million federally-funded, regional loan to help businesses and residents to become more energy efficient, increasing the city’s tree canopy to 30% in all neighborhoods by 2035, and establishing Green2015, an initiative to add 500 acres of new, publicly accessible green space to the city.

• Delaware River Waterfront: Nutter opened the first major Delaware River waterfront re-development project in decades in May 2011. The Race Street Pier features a boardwalk and redesigned landscape that is linked to the Old City by the newly-built Race Street Connector. This project serves as a prelude to the comprehensive waterfront investment and development detailed in the 30-year Master Plan for the Central Delaware (October 2011). The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) created the plan through a process centered on public engagement. Mayor Nutter demonstrated his design leadership and vision throughout that process through both vocal support and highly active participation.

• North Broad Street: Under Nutter’s leadership, North Broad Street is being transformed through an infusion of $500 million in new development by the Pennsylvania Ballet, Temple University, developers of an expanded Convention Center and other commercial and residential developers.

• “The Best of Green Schools in 2011:” In December 2011 the U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools placed Philadelphia on its list of “The Best of Green Schools in 2011” for making “significant steps in 2011 toward the greening of the city’s 291 schools.”

“In the span of just four years, Mayor Nutter has transformed Philadelphia’s approach to urban design,” said AAF President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Bogle. “Mayor Nutter has proven to be masterful at bringing together local leaders and design professionals to make smart design choices that strengthen communities through innovative, sustainable development.”

“A growing number of mayors believe the axiom that good design is essential to the future prosperity of our cities,” said Conference of Mayors Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Tom Cochran. “From the day he took office, Mayor Nutter set out to prove that axiom right. He has led Philadelphia and its citizens on a mission to create a city that is welcoming, economically vibrant and green. He is to be commended for his vision and leadership, which are inspiring his fellow mayors across the country.”

The Riley Award was first presented to former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in February 2011. The award, presented annually to a mayor by AAF in association with the Conference of Mayors, is named after Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. of Charleston who was first elected in 1975 and is now serving his tenth consecutive term in office. Under his leadership, Charleston has been widely acclaimed for its commitment to affordable housing and the revitalization of its waterfront and historic downtown business districts. Riley was a founding father of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and The United States Conference of Mayors. Established in 1986, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design has provided leadership training in urban design to more than 850 mayors across America.

The annual gala, presented by the American Architectural Foundation, is the nation’s premier celebration of leadership in architecture and design. This year’s event will also feature the presentation of AAF’s Keystone Award to the U.S. Green Building Council. In addition, Architectural Record will present its Good Design is Good Business Patron Award to Haworth, Inc., a global leader in the design and manufacture of office furniture and organic workspaces, as well as its Good Design is Good Business Architecture Award to the international architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM). Approximately 400 guests will attend the black-tie gala at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington (DC).