2017 marks 10 years the City of Spokane has been celebrating the Spokane Mayor’s Urban Design Awards. These biennial awards highlight the importance of creative thought, technical proficiency, and the relationship of good urban design to our city’s economic health and overall well-being. Mayor Condon will announce the awards; and award winners will receive a certificate of recognition and have their projects displayed on the city’s website as well as on the third floor of City Hall.

These awards are intended to build a city-wide awareness of and discussion about how good design, as part of thoughtful city planning, makes Spokane a more functional, beautiful, and inspiring city to live in.

From the City Website –

 Why does urban design of the public realm matter?

The design of our public realm matters because we collectively own these spaces. The public realm includes features that everyone can see or access, and they shape people’s opinions about Spokane and whether it’s a good city to live in, work in, or visit.

How a building meets the street matters, the materials used matter, and the scale of spaces and buildings matter. All of these aspects and many more affect Spokane’s character and aesthetics. It has been proven that better designed streetscapes and public spaces typically have less crime, higher pedestrian activity and increased economic activity. You do not have to be an urban designer to know when you are in a well-designed place because they feel good, they are places where memories are made, and they are places we want to come back to and that matters.

Previous winners include

Centennial Trail

Spokane Tribal Gathering Place (Huntington Park)

McKinstry Building

Spokane Public Market

Riverpoint Campus Master Plan.

To see and vote for this year’s nominees visit the Spokane City Website.