Congratulations to the 2020 winners! Award for Design in recognition of projects that demonstrate design excellence and contribute to enriching the public realm. Photo: Town of Brighton DPW Highland Crossing Trail Town of Brighton & City of Rochester The Highland Crossing Trail was recognized for being a pedestrian and bike-friendly connection between Brighton Town Park and the Genesee Riverway Trail. It provides an active transportation route for short commutes to work and to recreational destinations, all while reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other environmental degradation.   Award for Activism in recognition of civic spirit, persistence, and determination in turning a vision into reality. Photo: Quajay Donnell Shawn Dunwoody "Artivist" & Co-founder, Hinge Neighbors Shawn Dunwoody was recognized for his use of public space to enact placemaking and community care. Dunwoody is a co-founder of Hinge Neighbors and the integrative artist, designer, and visual consultant of DUNWOODĒ Visual Consulting. A widely-recognized and multi-disciplinary creative force for change, he has been integral in many dynamic Rochester projects, including: painting COVID infographics on sidewalks, "Black Lives Matter" on Court Street, and Composers Crossing at the intersection of Gibbs Street and E Main Street; as well as the Sanitation Station project with Hinge Neighbors, which utilized abandoned Pace kiosks throughout the community for free hand sanitizer units.   Directors' Award in recognition of long-range efforts that have enhanced the public realm and contributed to its vibrancy. Photo: Daytripping ROC City of Rochester for Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park The City of Rochester was recognized for Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park's role over the years as a space for community gathering, engagement, and mobilization. This park has gone through a number of lives in our city. Often ignored in the years after its construction, and not often the site for active programming in the city, the area has now come to new life, both as a site for a variety of programs ranging from concerts to a Winter and Christmas Village, to more recently being reincarnated as a blackboard on which Rochesterians can record their anger and hopes.   2020 Urban Observations Speaker Danielle Ponder, Esq. | Rochester, NY Musician, Activist, Lawyer Danielle Ponder, Esq. is a musician, activist, and lawyer who has been pursuing music full time since 2018, when she took a leap of faith and left her work as a Public Defender. In her five years with the Monroe County Public Defender’s office, she provided criminal defense to indigent defendants. Ponder has dedicated the past 15 years to organizing and speaking up for marginalized communities. She has worked on issues such as education funding, women’s rights, and has spent the past eight years working for criminal justice reform. She was recently highlighted by the American Bar Association and has been a TedX speaker. In 2017, Ponder created the multi-media show For the Love of Justice, where she shines light on our criminal justice system through powerful lyrics and thought provoking visuals.  Learn more about Danielle Ponder here.

Reshaping Rochester Award Categories:


Award for Design in honor of Robert Macon
Established to honor the late architect Robert Macon, nominations for this award recognize projects that demonstrate design excellence and contribute to enriching the public realm.

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Award for Activism in honor of Betty Strasenburgh
This award, named in honor of Rochester activist Betty Strasenburgh, underscores the importance of civic spirit, persistence, and determination that translates visions into reality.  It recognizes individuals who or organizations that are going beyond conventional boundaries to achieve a transformative idea or process that positively impacts a community in our greater Rochester region.

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Directors’ Award
This award recognizes efforts that have enhanced the public realm and contributed to its vibrancy.
The Design Center’s Board of Directors considers:
- Demonstrated high quality level of community design, planning, policy and expertise
- Visible success of an endeavor over an extended period of time
- Communication of a vision

Click here to see past Reshaping Rochester Award winners!