On November 8th, World Town Planning Day, the Mediterranean city of Sitges was the venue for the ceremony of the Second ISOCARP Awards for Excellence related to the ISOCARP Congress 2008 theme “Urban Growth without Sprawl”. After careful evaluation by an expert jury, ISOCARP decided to award the cities of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Cancun, Delhi, Warsaw and Yangzhou for their special development plans.
The award ceremony was celebrated in the Design Centre of Sitges (Barcelona). Representatives of the winning cities were present there. The act began with a speech by ISOCARP President, Pierre Laconte, who recognized the effort of the laureate cities to become an exceptional site for their citizens, becoming at the same time an example for other parts of the world. The past-president of ISOCARP, Alfonso Vegara, reminded the spirit in which these awards were born, to acknowledge the importance of cities nowadays and how critical is their planning towards the future.
Winners of the ISOCARP Awards for Excellence 2008 are:
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
Municipality of Amsterdam, Physical Planning Department
on behalf of The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area
Title of Project: “an image for development of the region for 2040”
For the very long term vision (which is important and indispensable in order to achieve sustainability), the great internal coherence and consistency of the project, the right scale of thinking as well as the wide spread consultation of stake holders and the public at large.
ANTWERP , Belgium
Municipality of Antwerp- Gewon Gemeentebedrijf Planningscel
Title of Project : Antwerp, site of the century (structure plan)
For the respect of the water element, the neighborhood dimension, the greening of the city at the level of each quarter, the creation of new parks in brownfield sites and the quality of the strategic spatial development plan which was designed by Bernardo Secci and Paola Vigano, containing concrete projects for crucial areas in the city.
CANCUN, Mexico
IMPLAN- Instituto de Planeacion de Desarrollo Urbano, Municipio de Benito Juarez
Title of Project : Strategic Plan Cancun 2030
For the capacity of IMPLAN- a recently established independent planning institute- to work in a complex environment in order to find new mechanisms to make more consistent a very rapidly growing urbanized area, For leading the transformation from an exclusive tourist destination to a proper urban centre, and for improving the accessibility in the urban tissue by structuring the flows of people and goods by creating a sustainable access systems.
DELHI, India
Delhi Development Authority
Title of Project : Master Plan for Delhi 2021
For the capacity to articulate a holistic planning at one of the most complex metropolitan areas of the world and facing key changes that are in common in many other megalopolises of the planet: from shelter to trade and commerce, from industry to environment, from conservation of built heritage to urban design and from development code to plan monitoring.
WARSAW, Poland
IN-VI Investment Environment
Title of Project : Miasteczko Wilanów Master Plan for a Warsaw Extension and Development Strategy
For elaborating a coherent master plan of Warsaw notwithstanding the difficult situation in east European countries and in particular a) for combining the work of private investors with public objectives for the benefit of the whole city b) for promoting a master planned community totally integrated in the city and c) for the implementation of the principle of mixed uses/ activities, the scale of urban fabric and the structural connection with the surrounding cities.
YANGZHOU, China
Ruan Yisan Heritage Foundation
Title of the Project: Grand Canal Conservation and Study
For making an extremely good survey along the Grand Canal, an area considered as the back bone of the urban development of China during 14 centuries, in an effort to promote alternative tourism in all surrounding cities, to invigorate farming activities, to develop quality housing and to use this area like a large heritage system (cultural route) as well as an educational tool and a communication platform for residents, officials scholars and practitioners.