By Kathleen Amoroso
July 1, 2002

Mayors Richard M. Daley of Chicago, Illinois, and David G. Wallace of Sugar Land, Texas were awarded top honors in the 2002 City Livability Awards Program, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Waste Management, Inc. The awards were announced in Madison on June 15 at the 70th Annual Conference of Mayors.

The City Livability Awards were announced and presented at the Conference of Mayors' Annual Luncheon by Mr. Maury Myers, Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer of Waste Management, the nation's largest provider of waste management services. Waste Management's support makes the City Livability Awards Program possible.

City Livability Awards recognize and honor mayors for exemplary leadership in developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America's cities. The winning cities were determined by an independent panel of judges, selected by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

In addition to the awards won by Mayors Daley and Wallace, Outstanding Achievement awards were received by Mayors Thomas M. Menino of Boston, Massachusetts; Glenda E. Hood of Orlando, Florida; Thomas J. Murphy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Meyera E. Oberndorf of Virginia Beach, Virginia, for cities with populations of 100,000 or more. Outstanding Achievement Awards were also won by Mayors Carlos Mendez Martinez of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; Will Toor of Boulder, Colorado; Lynn McIlhaney of College Station, Texas; and Jennifer T. Stultz of Gastonia, North Carolina, for cities with populations of 100,000 or less.

Honorable Mention Citations were awarded, for cities with populations of 100,000 or greater, to Mayors John Hieftje of Ann Arbor, Michigan; James D. Torrey of Eugene, Oregon; Lee P. Brown of Houston, Texas; Keith Hightower of Shreveport, Louisiana; and Dannel P. Malloy of Stamford, Connecticut. Mayors Peggy Lemons of Paramount, California; Rosemarie Ives of Redmond, Washington; Larry Giammo of Rockville, Maryland; Alan Larson of Schaumburg, Illinois; and Joel T. Daves of West Palm Beach, Florida received Honorable Mention Citations for cities with populations of 100,000 or less.

"Waste Management is proud to sponsor the 2002 City Livability Awards Program," said Mr. Myers. "During the fourteen years we have sponsored the program, many mayors and cities have received well-deserved national recognition for their innovative programs which have enriched their cities and our nation."

J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors added, "We at The U.S. Conference of Mayors have celebrated cities and their contribution to quality of life in America for over six decades. We are deeply grateful to Waste Management for their support of the City Livability Awards Program, and for the opportunity to showcase the talent and commitment of mayors and city governments."

"Our City Livability Awards Program gives us a chance to express our pride in their determined leadership and share in the celebration of their achievements," Mr. Cochran said.

Cities Greater Than 100,000 In Population

Chicago (IL) Receives First Place Awards with Outstanding Achievement Awards for Boston, Orlando, Pittsburgh and Virginia Beach

Chicago's "Chihuly In The Park: A Garden Of Glass" Reclaims Conservatory As City Treasure And Provides Economic Development For Long-Troubled Neighborhood

Chicago's "Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass" exhibition was conceived by Mayor Richard M. Daley as a fine arts exhibition shown at the 100- year old Garfield Park Conservatory on Chicago's Westside. Visitors move through the conservatory's acclaimed plant collection, guided by the elegant beauty of the art and surprised by the interaction of the organic forms of glass art and living plants. On the surface, the exhibition is about art, plants, beauty and reflection. The underlying motivation of the project, however, is economic development of a long-troubled neighborhood and the reclaiming of the conservatory as a city treasure.

The challenge of overcoming the perception of violence in the Garfield Park community, and stimulating visitorship to the Conservatory required a bold and innovative approach such as using the "blockbuster" artist, Dale Chihuly, in a neighborhood setting. Immediately, attendance to the conservatory tripled. Within months, the community image began to change, and interest in the economic revival of the area from the business, educational and foundation communities emerged. It is now apparent that the program has created the public momentum that is fueling the turnaround story of a neighborhood. survivors.

"Mayor Daley was the driving force behind this project," said the panel of judges. "He has had a long-term winning strategy of using the arts to focus the nation's attention on the windy city. Now it has served to improve the quality of life for this neighborhood's residents. That's a true example of mayoral leadership!"

Sugar Land Receives First Place Award with Outstanding Achievement Awards for Aguadilla, Boulder, College Station and Gastonia

Sugar Land's Community Garden Program Gives Juvenile Offenders A New Lease On Life

First implemented in October 2000 under former Mayor Dean Hrbacek, Sugar Land's Community Garden Program demonstrates to juveniles that each person is responsible for their own conduct and that every action has a consequence. Now under the leadership of new Mayor David G. Wallace, the program assigns juveniles to work in a garden located in the city's public works complex instead of paying municipal citations for Class C misdemeanor offenses.

Class C misdemeanor offenses that result in community service range from motor vehicle violations to theft; juveniles work weekends and occasional weekdays at a rate of $12.50 per hour or $100 per day until their fine is paid.

While at the garden, juveniles perform all the work necessary to cultivate the crops. They grow a variety of items, including tomatoes, squash, cabbage, herbs, strawberries, radishes, carrots, etc. In addition, juveniles tend to the other needs of the garden. For example, landscaping is installed and maintained, and plans are in place to install split-rail fencing.

The juvenile garden is not only an alternative to paying a fine but a great learning experience as well. Most of the juveniles assigned to the garden have never seen how vegetables are grown and are amazed at the fruits of their labor. Some actually come back to see how "their" tomatoes and "their" okra are doing. For the approximately 319 youths who have completed community service at the juvenile community garden, the recidivism rate is 5 percent.

"This program teaches kids to take pride in where they live instead of destroying where they live, A noted the panel of judges. AWith the produce donated to a local human needs ministry for distribution to the needy, this is a win-win situation."

Members of the 2002 City Livability panel of judges were Sharon Sayles Belton, former Mayor of Minneapolis, and Trustee of The U. S. Conference of Mayors; Bruce Tobey, former Mayor of Gloucester and a City Livability recipient him; and Cheryl Teamer, Special Assistant to Marc Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, and former President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors.