2019 Award Winners
Use the link above to watch the 2019 award video, or browse the winner list and project descriptions below:
Honorable Mention for Outstanding Economic Development Planning: City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development - West Side Strategic Revitalization & Airport TIF Implementation Plan
The City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development commissioned this planning study to provide a basis for future project planning and implementation to support the redevelopment and revitalization of the city’s West Side. This plan will act as a guidance document that will be used by DMD to direct project implementation of approximately 98 million dollars’ worth of projects funded by the TIF and in collaboration with local, state and federal grantors and private investments. The investment realized as part of this project has the potential to catalyze revitalization and positively impact the West Side of Indianapolis for generations to come. Today, this plan is being used to guide the development of the Blue Line Bus Rapid Transit system on Washington Street. It is anticipated that additional infrastructure improvements and private development around BRT stops will occur soon and further cement the implementation of this Plan.
Outstanding Transportation Planning: City of Indianapolis - Indy Moves Transportation Integration Plan
The Indy Moves Transportation Integration Plan is Marion County’s first comprehensive transportation plan, connecting transportation goals, plans, and projects for all transportation modes into an integrated plan. The plan includes 461 project recommendations, each prioritized using community-derived values, ensuring the most impactful projects, regardless of mode, are prioritized for implementation. The plan also includes a focus on equitable investment, insuring transportation investments benefit those communities likely to receive the most benefit in economic mobility.
Outstanding Grassroots Planning: Miller Beach Arts & Creative District and Family Folklore Foundation - Northern Lights Eco Adventures Camp
Northern Lights Eco Adventures successfully piloted their first Regional Service Expedition through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and across 3 Northwest Indiana counties in 2018. From Northern Lights Eco Adventures pilot course 11 service projects were conducted across Lake, Porter and La Porte counties, along with gathering critical mass data for improving amenities in under-served communities/populations, showcasing a need for the Marquette Trail to be completed and data on why a regional dockless bike share running along the Southshore would be successful. Since the camp completed, NIRPC has submitted their Build grant application to seek funding to finish the Marquette Trail. Discussions have begun with county, parks, and municipal groups on creating a regional bike share and more adaptive equipment for persons with disabilities has been acquired by local community groups.
Honorable Mention for Outstanding Implementation: Town of Corydon - 2035 Corydon Comprehensive Plan
Corydon is small town of 3,000 people just 30 minutes from Louisville. Corydon is a celebrated destination of Indiana’s history and to play a relevant role in the future, has been proactive in implementing several quality of place initiatives to attract residents and investment. This started with the adoption of the Corydon Comprehensive Plan in 2015. The plan identified 54 objectives for the community to complete over the 20-year horizon and has completed 28 of those objectives. Since adoption, the Town has invested $5.4M from local sources and grant funding, leveraging over $15M in investment in three short years. Investments included the addition of approximately 50 new living units, will renovate 14 others, and expansion of additional trail miles, parks, and amenities. All efforts made to date have remained in line with Corydon’s vision by focusing on downtown, preserving the historic character and providing an exceptional quality of life.Honorable Mention for Outstanding Comprehensive Plan: Henry County Planning Commission - Henry County Comprehensive Plan
The Henry County Comprehensive Plan provides a forward-thinking road map that will guide policy decisions as well as both public and private sector development for years to come. The plan details a community-driven vision for all incorporated and unincorporated areas of the community, including the city of New Castle, the county seat, and the towns of Spiceland, Knightstown, and Middletown, among others. The plan focuses on implementing prioritized growth, development, and quality-of-life objectives, strategies, and action steps for county, city, and town government as well as the general public and other stakeholders. It also provides detailed recommendations for coordinated efforts among the county, city, and town agencies to make the vision a reality. The plan will help create opportunities for private investment and enhance quality of while, while simultaneously protecting natural resources and prime agricultural lands that county residents value.Outstanding Comprehensive Plan: City of New Castle, Indiana - New Castle Comprehensive Plan
Every page of the New Castle Comprehensive Plan stems from the community setting a vision to enhance quality of life, attract diverse people, and create economic growth for the next 10 to 20 years. The plan defines and reinforces the community’s overall vision, values, and policy objectives through a series of goals and strategies that address multiple quality-of-life elements. The City will use the comprehensive plan as a tool in making future land use and development-related decisions. Plan components include an evaluation and recommendations related to land use, transportation and connectivity, housing and neighborhoods, utility infrastructure, economic development, environment and stability, community services and facilities, parks and recreation, education and workforce development, and communication and identity. The plan uses a future land use map, future transportation map, and ten critical-path strategies to help identify short- and long-range projects, programs, and policies for the City.
Outstanding Student Project: Ball State University - Muncie Action Plan 3
The third iteration of the Muncie Action Plan (MAP3) is a continuation of the two previous collaborative plans that serve as a strategic guide for improving the Muncie community. Based on the values and aspirations of the residents, MAP3 represents a unified and achievable goal for the community. As a collaborative effort between MAP and Ball State University, Instructor Lisa Dunaway led a group of nine specially selected students from Ball State University’s Department of Urban Planning. This Immersive Learning Course assisted in research, public outreach, and formulation of the final plan. The planning process included four public outreach meetings for community input, five focus group meetings to better understand the current efforts made by local organizations, and two public open houses for public comment on the first draft. The final plan, MAP3, is a direct product of the aspirations of Muncie residents and the strategies to achieve them.
Honorable Mention for Best Practice: City of Indianapolis - Marion County Land Use Plan
The Marion County Land Use Plan is Indy’s first, comprehensive, county-wide land use plan in over 50 years. The plan provides the primary comprehensive plan recommendations for development review across the City’s 403 square miles. Rather than identifying a discrete land use for all 300,000 parcels in the County, as had been done for decades, planners devised a new system of land use typologies and overlays. The system groups compatible uses into typologies, and then applies conditions related to infrastructure and context to guide where individual uses go within those typologies. A key implication of this typology system is that it eliminates recommendations for single-family only neighborhoods and the consequences of racial and economic segregation such planning has enabled in the past. By doing so, the plan is an important part of a broader inclusive growth strategy to address growing inequities in the Indianapolis community.
Best Practice Award: Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission - Greenways+Blueways 2020 Plan
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) adopted the Greenways+Blueways 2020 Plan (G+B 2020 Plan) in March of 2018. This document takes the vanguard approach of merging regional initiatives in both environmental conservation and active transportation, and bringing them together in one cohesive document. The goal is to highlight the many interconnected relationships between these planning areas, and assigning roles for stakeholders to implement these connections. The G+B 2020 Plan unpacks each planning area through three main topics: conservation, recreation and transportation. An integration chapter discusses opportunities to merge these areas of focus under geographical, functional and policy topics. A final chapter on integration presents a series of detailed matrices which outline each of the plan’s goals and objectives, and identifies specific action steps for stakeholders. The G+B 202 Plan offers an ambitious vision of tying together distinct yet mutually beneficial areas of planning focuses, and relating their benefits to the public.