Nominations are invited for the Canadian Urban Institute's CUI Brownie Awards 2007

The Canadian Urban Institute's annual Brownie Awards program recognizes leadership, innovation and environmental sustainability in brownfields redevelopment across Canada. Working with key industry and professional organizations, the Canadian Urban Institute presents its awards at Canadian Brownfields, held in October each year.

The CUI Brownie Awards Selection Committee will announce short-listed projects, programs and individuals at the end of September 2007. The winners will be announced and presented at the CUI Brownie Awards ceremony to be held during Canadian Brownfields 2007 “Partners in Sustainable City Building” in Montréal on October 18-19, 2007.

There is no fee required at any stage of this awards program.

Application Procedure

Since their inception, the CUI Brownie Awards have successfully reflected an extraordinary range of projects and programs from across the country. We want to continue this tradition, so, at the request of numerous colleagues who were unable to meet the original deadlines, we have revised the process and schedule to allow for consideration of additional projects. Nominations already received (Step One) will be processed in the normal way.

The revised process and schedule is as follows: Nominations at this time will proceed directly to Step 2. Please fill out the complete Step 2 nomination form, which requires a 500-word summary of how the project or program meets the criteria for the relevant category. The deadline for complete nominations is September 10, 2007, although we would like to receive your submissions as soon as possible.

If selected to proceed to the finalist stage, you will be asked to prepare a presentation board for display at the conference and a version of the graphics for use in a PowerPoint presentation.

Competition Categories

Nominations may be submitted in one or more of categories 1 to 6 only. All projects or programs selected to proceed to stage two will be considered for an award in categories 8 and 9.

Category 1 - Policy and Program Development
Recognizes policies, programs or new legislative initiatives that:
• Remove barriers or otherwise facilitate brownfield development;
• Provide models of excellence that can be applied or replicated; and
• Are judged to be effective in initiating new brownfield projects.

Category 2 - Implementation and Process
Recognizes projects that:
• Demonstrate creative responses to policy initiatives and frameworks;
• Provide examples of successful solutions to brownfield barriers and issues; and
• Are completed or underway.

Category 3 - Communications, Marketing and Public Engagement
Recognizes programs, consultation, communications and marketing initiatives that:
• Have brought brownfields redevelopment to the attention of a wider audience;
• Demonstrate the use of innovative approaches to building community support; and
• Enhance acceptance of brownfields redevelopment through consultation, communications or marketing programs.

Category 4 - Sustainable Design and Technological Innovation on a Brownfield Site
Awarded to an individual project or development that:
• Advances local land use goals through the application of sustainable design principles;
• Promotes the acceptance of ecological principles; and
• Encourages use of innovative technologies that meet high environmental standards while matching the time and cost requirements of the ! market.

Category 5 - Financing, Risk Management and Partnerships
Awarded to a project or program that:
• Uses a strong partnership to overcome obstacles of capital financing;
• Includes resolution of risk management issues; and
• Uses innovative financing and risk management in enabling new brownfield projects.

Category 6 - Heritage / Adaptive Reuse
Awarded to a project or program that:
• Features heritage conservation and adaptive reuse projects that also involve resolution of brownfield issues;
• Offers innovative achievement of both conservation and clean up objectives; and
• Promotes adaptive reuse through quality design.

Category 7 - Individual Achievement
The Brownfielder of the Year has:
• Earned a reputation as ! a champion for brownfield redevelopment;
• Promoted a better understanding of brownfields; and
• Invested exceptional personal effort to further the cause of brownfield redevelopment.

All projects/programs will be considered for “Best Project” (8A, 8B & 9)

8A - Best Small / Medium Scale Project
Awarded to a project/program that is sustainable (addressing economic, environmental and social considerations) and which:
• Features high quality urban design and public space;
• Integrates functionally and visually into the local fabric;
• Includes innovative resolution of contamination issues; and
• Stimulates broader economic regeneration.

8B - Best Large Scale Project
Awarded to a project/program that is comprehensive, sustainable (addressing economic, environmental and social considerations) and which:• Effectively addresses phasing and other challenges associated with large scale developments
• Features high quality urban design and public space;
• Integrates functionally and visually into the local fabric;
• Includes innovative resolution of contamination issues; and
• Stimulates wider economic regeneration.

9 - Best Overall Project
Awarded to the project/program that:
• Best exemplifies excellence in high quality urban design and public space, superior performance, and is supportive of

Competition Guidelines

Brownfield Site Definition: The project or program must involve remediation and reuse of a brownfield site or sites. For the purpose of this competition, brownfield sites are defined as “An abandoned, vacant, derelict or underutilized commercial or industrial property where past actions have resulted in actual or perceived contamination and where there is an active potential for redevelopment.” Cleaning up the past, Building the Future, A National Redevelopment Strategy for Canada - National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, 2003

Nominations may be submitted in one or more of Categories 1 to 6. All projects/programs selected to proceed to stage two will be considered by the CUI Brownie Awards Selection Committee for categories 8A, 8B & 9. The CUI Brownie Awards Selection Committee reserves the right to consider a project in categories other than categories for which it has been nominated.

The nomination must state how the project or program meets the Brownfield Site Definition. While the definition is quite broad, preference will be given to projects and programs that address significant brownfield issues.

All nominations must address how the project, programs or individual achievements relate to all the competition category criteria.

Nominations will be accepted from both public and private organizations, as well as individuals and project proponents.

Although nominations for proposed projects will be accepted, preference will be given to projects that are complete or those that have received approval to proceed and have made some progress towards completion.

The CUI Brownie Awards Selection Committee will give special consideration to projects promoting practices that can be replicated elsewhere.

We encourage the resubmission of nominations for projects or programs that have not previously been recognized because they were considered premature.

Former Brownie Award winners are not eligible for a second nomination for the same project/program or individual achievement category.

Please refer inquires to Linda Varekamp, c/o CUI Brownie Awards Selection Committee, Canadian Urban Institute, Tel: 416-365-0816 x 221, E-mail: brownies@canurb.com

Applications will be considered by a committee of individuals representing the following organizations:

Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN)
Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP)
Canadian Urban Institute (CUI)
Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO)
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
Montreal Centre of Excellence in Brownfields Rehabilitation (MCEBR)
Ontario Association of Architects (OAA)
Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA)
Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement (OCETA)
Ontario Environment Industry Association (ONEIA)
Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI)
Urban Development Institute – Ontario (UDI)

For more information, please visit http://www.canurb.com/events/awards_brownies.php

The Brownie Awards are Sponsored by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

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