Planning Awards

Advancing Diversity and Social Change Award

Reconnect Rondo & Mend Collaborative

The Rondo Anti-Displacement and Community Investment Strategy addresses the needs of at-risk African American communities historically impacted by to past highway construction as a key component of ReConnect Rondo’s restorative development movement. The Anti-Displacement and Community Investment Strategy advances ethical and inclusionary planning through its holistic approach, which intertwines housing, economic opportunities, cultural preservation, and social justice.

Comprehensive Plan or Small Area Plan Award

City of Eagan

The City-led, proactive approach for the Northwest Commons Small Area Plan used a process that included both extensive public engagement and high design expectations and outcomes that carefully balanced costs and long-range revenue with a connected, mixed-use vision. The completed Plan represents a careful balance of technical challenges and site obstacles (i.e., limited public road access, logistics of large community events at Eagan Central Park, location within Drinking Water Supply Management Area) with a strong development vision to create a mixed-use neighborhood sensitively integrated with the park and existing neighborhoods.

Resilience and Sustainability Award

City of St. Cloud and Bolton & Menk, Inc.

The 2024 Historic Preservation Manual was created to help enhance, preserve, and protect the unique character of St. Cloud and its distinct communities while also supporting economic development and addressing housing demand. The Manual advises building owners, architects and contractors on best practices for making improvements to historic buildings and provides the St. Cloud HPC and Department of Planning and Zoning staff with objective criteria for evaluating proposed applications.

Planning Excellence Award

Ava Tanner the City Planner Children's Book

Ava Tammer the City Planner addresses a known community need by providing an innovative and original educational resource that introduces young people to the principles of urban planning in a relatable and engaging way. By focusing on the unique perspective of a young female protagonist of color, they have created a fresh and innovative approach to teaching planning concepts. This effort positions the community for a stronger, more equitable future by empowering youth with the knowledge and skills to actively participate in shaping their communities. This children’s book seeks to empower youth in their own communities, while filling a gap in educational materials, better positioning the profession for a stronger, more equitable future. They purposefully utilized a team of experienced planners and educators to develop the content for the book, ensuring that it was both informative and engaging for young readers. This effort complements and builds upon existing planning efforts by promoting diversity and inclusion within the field and inspiring the next generation of planners.

Outstanding Student Award

To Acknowledge and to Celebrate: Indigenous Placemaking on Hoocak and Dakota Homelands

Indigenous peoples have called Minnesota home for thousands of years, but genocide and forced removal by European colonization has largely erased their histories and connections to the land. The use of public infrastructure is one step in recognizing indigenous people as past, present, and future stewards of the land. Using interviews and community engagement methods, the project team worked with indigenous Hoocak and Dakota residents of the La Crescent area to devise a framework for the creation of public spaces that acknowledge and celebrate indigenous history and culture. Ideas for designs of a public space also emerged through conversation, precedent cases, and interactive Place It! activities, including recommendations for representing indigenous history and culture in a way that engages the community, and creates curiosity and a desire to learn.

Peg and Otto Schmidt Planner of the Year Award

Meagan McMahan

Meg is an MN APA member and AICP certified. Meg has volunteered her time giving back to the planning community both locally and nationally. She was a final juror for the 2024 APA Student Planning and Design Competition. She has spoken at multiple conferences including APA National Planning Conference, MN APA Conference, Smart Growth America Equity Summit, NAHRO National Conference, and events with the Minnesota, North Carolina, and St Louis Missouri APA Chapters in addition to ULI Minnesota events. She spoke in a series of videos for APA. She’s been a guest on multiple podcasts, such as the Pew Charitable Trust After The Fact, PBS Brick by Brick, and NPR 1A, sharing her expertise with the planning community and general public.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Jane Kansier

Jane has been an APA member since 1987 and was AICP certified in 1991. She retired from full-time work in 2023 but continues to work in her retirement as a senior-level resource for Bolton & Menk. Jane served as a Professional Development Officer for the Minnesota APA chapter for over 10 years, beginning in 2011. During her lengthy tenure in this role, she supported the APA MN chapter through numerous functions, including leading AICP test preparation activities, conference and training session coordination and certification, and serving as a regular presenter at conferences on core topics including ethics. During her tenure, MN APA regularly offered close to 100 CM activities every year! Jane worked consistently behind the scenes and in front of audiences to ensure the professional integrity and value of planning, particularly advancing the goals of the AICP certification. In addition to serving directly, Jane served as a resource and willing mentor for many existing and emerging leaders. Although many Minnesota planning professionals may not be aware of it, Jane’s colleagues like to joke that there are likely only one or two degrees of separation between her and any planner in the state!

Jane received the 2022 Lynn Jorgenson Leadership Award from the American Planning Association’s Chapter Presidents Council for her dedication to the Minnesota Chapter. The APA Chapter Presidents Council recognizes individuals that have demonstrated outstanding performance in public outreach, service to members, professional development, and overall chapter achievement. Jane oversaw the creation of Comprehensive Plans in three decennial cycles within the Metropolitan Council area. In the 2040 planning cycle, she worked in some capacity on over 20 plans! Jane’s continual feedback on the Comprehensive Planning process and collaboration with the Metropolitan Council has made the planning process work better for municipalities and their residents across the Twin Cities. In part due to Jane’s efforts, MVTA, Prior Lake, and Shakopee were recognized with the 2015 MN APA Partnerships in Planning Award for Transit System Merger. Jane was celebrated as the Prior Lake Employee of the Year and was instrumental in the development of a new City Hall, Police Station, and Fire Station.