The fifth annual Urban Design Awards, or “Urbies,” presented by the Charlotte Urban Design Center will take place on Oct. 23, and we need YOU to decide our nominees! A jury of 10 urban design experts want to know your favorite walkable neighborhoods, streets, urban buildings and other public spaces. You have been hand-selected based on your expertise to participate in this exclusive nomination process. We kindly request that you do not share this nomination form with others. Nominations close on Friday, Sept. 12.
Projects must be located within Charlotte city limits or Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.
RULES FOR NOMINATIONS
Please read the category descriptions and provide the name and address of one project you'd like to nominate per category. You are not required to make a nomination in each category.
You must follow these guidelines for the jury to consider your nomination:
AWARD CATEGORIES
A new cluster of buildings and outdoor spaces that mixes homes with easy access to shops, services and entertainment within a quarter mile of a transit stop.
Access to transit is access to opportunity. When you live, work or play near a transit stop, you expand your opportunities to experience new places, see new sights, find great restaurants and entertainment, and rub elbows with new people.
2021 Winner: The Metropolitan
2022 Winner: Atherton
2023 Winner: Lintmen's
2024 Winner: 30Six NoDa
A neighborhood where places to live, work and play are all within an attractive, tree-shaded 10-minute walk. This can be a new or established neighborhood, but it should have a unique and identifiable character. You can find your favorite coffee shop around the corner and say hello to neighbors on your walk to work. And when you run out of dish soap, it’s just a quick walk to the grocery store or bodega a couple blocks away.
2021 Winner: Plaza Midwood
2022 Winner: Wesley Heights
2023 Winner: Dilworth
2024 Winner: Lockwood
A substantial renovation of an outdated or underutilized building or place that now makes a significant contribution to the vitality of the city. Revitalizing buildings and places that have made an impact on the culture, economy and history of a city over the years makes Charlotte stronger - by weaving the stories of who we were, who we are, and who we hope to be into our urban spaces, people feel more rooted in the places they live, work and play.
2021 Winner: Optimist Hall
2022 Winner: The Brooklyn Collective
2023 Winner: Community Matters Café
2024 Winner: American Legion Memorial Stadium
An inclusive and distinctive place where people from all walks of life feel welcome to gather. Great public spaces can include parks, plazas, greenways or trails. These places can range from “must-see” destinations (the National Mall in Washington D.C.) to treasured community places that we return to again and again (Charlotte’s Freedom Park). The best of these spaces embody community values and foster a deep sense of place.
2021 Winner: Little Sugar Creek Greenway
2022 Winner: Romare Bearden Park
2023 Winner: Freedom Park
2024 Winner: The Green Uptown
Placemaking is as much process as project: It involves the reimagination of everyday, underutilized spaces as engaging places through community participation. The result is a people-centered, shared space within or along streets, sidewalks and other public places. From a sidewalk mural to a pop-up park, these places remind us that our shared spaces can be much more than utilitarian and provide moments of beauty, vibrancy, whimsy (and beyond) to enrich our daily lives.
2021 Winner: Camp North End
2022 Winner: Nebel’s Alley Night Market
2023 Winner: Charlotte SHOUT!
2024 Winner: Beatties Ford Road Corridor
Transformative mobility projects—whether streetscapes, bike networks, public transit, or the supporting elements that bring them to life—do more than move people from place to place. They shape the very soul of our cities. These projects create vibrant, people-first public spaces that invite interaction, spark economic energy, and support inclusive access for all. They turn infrastructure into experience, inviting designers, planners, and communities to reimagine what our streets and shared spaces can be.
This award recognizes both time-tested and newly imagined mobility projects that elevate everyday urban life. It honors those that thoughtfully weave mobility into the fabric of the built environment, creating places where social connection thrives, culture is expressed, and the rhythms of daily life unfold in meaningful ways. Great mobility design doesn’t just support movement—it fosters belonging, encounters, and a dynamic sense of place.
2021 Winner: Tryon Street
2022 Winner: North Davidson Street
2023 Winner: Elizabeth Avenue
2024 Winner: Selwyn Avenue
A building that shapes public space through vibrant ground-floor uses, where the activity inside spills out into the street and enhances the pedestrian experience. A great city building embraces the street and provides opportunities to participate in life on the street, from both inside and out.
2021 Winner: The Railyard
2022 Winner: Elizabeth on Seventh
2023 Winner: Latta Arcade and Brevard Court
2024 Winner: The Vantage
A local individual or organization who has made significant and sustained contributions in improving the urban design of Charlotte, whether via policy, education, programming, design or planning. These are people or groups that promote the connection between people and place, and work to make Charlotte a place that visitors want to return to, and that all residents take pride in calling home.
2021 Winners: Harvey Gantt and Hugh McColl
2022 Winner: David Furman
2023 Winner: Mary Newsom
2024 Winner: Ely Portillo
A local leader who organizes and collaborates on initiatives that improve and protect the quality of public spaces in their neighborhoods. Neighborhood champions embody community spirit through their dedication to the places that have shaped them.
2021 Winner: Darryl Gaston (In Memoriam)
2022 Winner: Neighboring Concepts
2023 Winners: Ruth Ava Lyons and Paul Sires
2024 Winner: CharlotteEAST
A building, place, shopping center or neighborhood outside of the city center that exhibits great urban design. Great suburban design includes different places for people to interact outside the private space of the home – typically ranging from semi-private (front porch), to semi-public (front yard), to public (sidewalk and street). Great suburban commercial design has a “Main Street” feel, where visitors stroll between shops and restaurants on foot and where a quick trip to get shoes can just as quickly turn into a leisurely afternoon.
2022 Winner: Piedmont Town Center
2023 Winner: Waverly
2024 Winner: The Bowl at Ballantyne