Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence

12/20/2022

The National Endowment for the Arts Grant offers support to small organizations for projects in all artistic disciplines that extend the reach of the arts to groups/communities with rich and dynamic artistic and cultural contributions to share that are underserved.

Check out the upcoming guidelines webinar to learn more: https://www.arts.gov/grants/challenge-america

Application deadlines:
Part 1: April 27, 2023
Part 2: May 16, 2023

NEW on arts.gov!

Visit arts.gov/grants for the 2023 grant guidelines & application info including deadlines for Challenge America & Grants for Arts Projects (GAP).

Register for an upcoming guidelines webinar at arts.gov/events.

12/08/2022

The Just City Mayoral Fellowship is a program of the Mayors' Institute on City Design (MICD) with the at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. This unique and highly interactive program brings together a small group of mayors to directly tackle injustices in each of their cities through planning and design interventions.

The program is expected to follow a hybrid in-person and virtual format between February and April of 2023. Interested mayors may submit an expression of interest form through Monday, December 5th to be considered for this program.

Submit a letter of inquiry here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/micd2023fellowship

12/05/2022

Bloomberg Philanthropies launched their third , which will grant as much as $1 million to up to 10 U.S. cities for public art projects that build community, tackle civic issues, and drive creative partnerships. Previously selected cities developed creative community-led projects to address challenges from healing after gun violence to climate change. Mayors can make a vision for impactful public art in their community a reality.

Apply here: https://www.bloomberg.org/videos/your-city-could-receive-up-to-1-million-from-the-public-art-challenge/

11/28/2022

Join the Boston Society of Landscape Architects in celebrating Design Award recipients Mikyoung Kim of Mikyoung Kim Design and Kaki Martin of Klopfer Martin Design Group.

Learn about their practice in RBA's Inspiring Design: Creating Inclusive and Resilient Public Spaces series hosted in partnership with Northeastern University's Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy: http://ow.ly/P81k50LOWtB

11/29 at 6:00-8:30 pm ET
Tickets: http://ow.ly/6kFm50LOWtA

Creating Inclusive and Resilient Public Spaces Inspiring Design: Creating Beautiful, Just, and Resilient Places in America Hosted in partnership with the Northeastern University School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy as … Co...

11/21/2022

National Organization of Minority Architects's sold-out conference has completed. Here are all of this year's highlights: https://www.noma.net/conference-2022/

The UNPLUGGED conference occurred, in Nashville, Tennessee, Oct. 26-30, 2022, honoring the achievements of its members, learning from industry peers and departing with a clear commitment and renewed energy to support the diversification of the architecture profession. More than 1,200 NOMA members, allies and students attended the sold-out, in-person conference, the first since 2019.

In addition to the inspiring keynotes and more than 50 educational seminars, conference attendees also celebrated the identification of two new founding members, Pedro Frank Lopez, AIA, NOMA, and Louis E. Fry Sr., FAIA, NOMA, a discovery made during research conducted to recognize the organization’s 50th anniversary, as well as the induction of incoming NOMA President Pascale Sablan, NOMA, FAIA, LEED AP from current NOMA President Jason Pugh, NOMA, AIA, AICP, LEED AP.

“I am honored to serve an organization and its members who are dedicated to positively progressing our industry and built environment,” said Sablan. “More than ever, there has been a massive culture shift where designers worldwide have led and organized in new ways to build a more purpose-driven just society. Using design and architecture to enrich, educate and heal the lives of people is powerful, and as an organization, we have the opportunity and responsibility to use our perspectives and tools to impact the way people live. I look forward to what we can accomplish together over the next two years and beyond.”

Read all of the details on NOMA.net at https://www.noma.net/conference-2022/

11/07/2022

Submissions are now open for the Loeb Fellows Class of 2024. Head on over the the website to see what Loeb Alumni, like Kimberly Driggins '16 (2017 RBA Selection Committee Member) are up to now.

The Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) is now accepting applications for the Loeb Fellowship Class of 2024.

11/01/2022

Metropolis Magazine interviews Angela Brooks, co-principal of Brooks + Scarpa Architects (2003 Silver Medalist Colorado Court). Angela reflects on the biography that influences her practice to this day.

"I read Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees (1982) in the early ’90s during graduate school in Southern California, and it had a profound impact on how I view architecture, the shape of cities, and the people who live in them."

Read the feature at Metropolis Magazine: http://ow.ly/Z1U350LmV74

Download the case study:
https://www.rudybruneraward.org/winners/colorado-court/

A socially and environmentally responsible single-room occupancy housing complex

10/25/2022

Engaging and empowering people and communities is essential to creating inclusive places and cities. It's a common attribute among 88 medalists and a topic we have delved into with recent public programs.

At Northeastern University’s conference, Boston-based practitioners shared how they engage people and communities in design to enable social change. As Jonathan Evans from MASS Design Group observed, “bringing people into the process broadens access and shifts the process.”

Check out our newsletter to learn about our partnerships and programs and how educators utilize RBA in the classroom and studio. http://ow.ly/flQH50LkHw0

[Image courtesy of Jose Cotto on behalf of the Small Center for Collaborative Design]

10/18/2022

Some cities and towns that have lost their central gathering spaces are trying to re-create them. A recent article by Governing highlights cities like 2019 RBA Silver Medalist Sulphur Springs Downtown, the renewal of a rural, small-town civic plaza and main street.

Read the case study:
https://www.rudybruneraward.org/winners/sulphur-springs-downtown/

Learn more:
https://www.governing.com/assessments/the-town-squares-we-used-to-have-and-could-have-again

They have a long history, and they have been our "public living room." Some cities and towns that have lost their central gathering places are trying to re-create them.

10/14/2022

There’s no such thing as a free bus. But these five cities are among those offering free public transportation. In Boston, people with lower incomes spend a higher percentage on transportation (up to 29% of household expenditure). Investing in fare-free programs could increase equity for underserved populations.

Find out how it's working out at Next City: http://ow.ly/eAQ150Lagno

There’s no such thing as a free bus. But these five cities are among those offering free public transportation. How is it working out?

10/10/2022

Baltimore developer Bree Jones is breaking down barriers to building community with Parity, an equitable development company that transforms abandoned properties into affordable homeownership opportunities.

Jones recently spoke at TED about how she is changing real estate development and the history of racial injustice in Baltimore.

In Leading with Vision: the Method not the Magic, hosted by RBA and Enterprise Community Partners, Jones observed it’s "not just about building but also about designing social systems.”

WATCH:
How to revitalize a neighborhood – without gentrification http://ow.ly/i7yZ50L69wQ

Leading with Vision: The Method not the Magic
http://ow.ly/XkPc50L69wS

The housing market can be vexing: while some neighborhoods get ridiculously expensive and price out longtime residents, others have historic homes sitting vacant without demand. Equitable housing developer and TED Fellow Bree Jones shares how she found a way to revitalize neighborhoods experiencing....