Definitions for Rules:
2026 RULES and GUIDELINES
• Entrant(s) – the person(s) or entity that nominated the Place.
• Place – the Place or Project nominated by Entrant which can be categorized as
• Theme – the annual award Theme. Finalists will move on to public voting (People’s Choice). See Theme Criteria for description of the selected theme.
All Entrants grant APA Florida the right to use all information related to the competition, including information on nominations obtained through the competition, for marketing purposes or any other purpose, unless prohibited by law. Entrants must hold all copyrights to images and videos being submitted or obtain a written permission from the image owner to submit with nomination. If an Entrant submits images and does not have the correct license for use, any fines levied upon APA Florida will be passed onto the Entrant By entering the contest, Entrant agrees to pay these fines, if levied.
Officers, employees, consultants, and agents of municipalities in which nominations are located are not eligible to serve as judges. All Selection Committee judges will be made public on the APA Florida chapter website.
APA Florida reserves the right to limit the number of Great Place finalists based on the quality of the nominations received. Each Place can only be identified as falling under one (1) category (For instance, City Riverwalk is either Public Space or Greenway/Trail). If multiple entries for the same Place are nominated by different Entrants, APA Florida will contact all Entrants to determine the most applicable category.
The Entrant for the Great Place designated, by acceptance of the designation, agrees to release APA Florida, its officers, employees, and agents from all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership, or use of the Great Place designation.
Each application should include contact information for an official representative of the Place. This should be an individual with authority to coordinate receipt of the award with APA Florida. A press conference or award ceremony for the winner will not be the responsibility of APA Florida, however we will make every effort to coordinate such an event with the official representative and ensure that a representative of the organization is present to deliver the award if requested. Any images taken at the ceremony will be used for APA Florida marketing purposes. APA Florida is not responsible for acquiring consent of persons appearing in photos during the ceremony, especially if the ceremony is held in a public space.
CONTEST TIMELINE:
• Nomination period opens: June 17, 2026
• Nominations are due by: 5 pm ET on July 31, 2026
• Selection Committee will deliberate and announce finalists: Aug. 31, 2026
• People’s Choice Award voting runs: Sept. 1 – Sept 30, 2026
• Winner announced: Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, to kick off National Community Planning Month
NOMINATION GUIDELINES
1. SHORT DESCRIPTION
Each Entrant must submit a short description of the Place not to exceed 150 words. It must describe the Place and what makes it great. If selected as a finalist, this description will be used in the People’s Choice Award voting ballot.
2. LONG DESCRIPTION
Each Entrant must submit a long description of the Place, not more than 1,000 words, that will be reviewed by the Judges to base their final selection. Be sure to identify:
• The responsible jurisdiction (city, county, etc.)
• Physical size or dimensions
• Clearly state the category (Street, Public Space, Greenway/Trail, or Downtown)
• Describe how the Place fits this year’s Theme (See Theme Criteria)
• Include additional details about the Place (special significance to the community, other recognitions received, etc.)
Remember these descriptions will be used by the Selection Committee in conjunction with the photos that you provide to help determine the finalists that will be posted for the public vote.
3. AWARD GUIDELINES & THEME CRITERIA and CATEGORIES
The Theme criteria below are provided below and must be addressed in the long description portion of the nomination packet:
This year’s theme: Great People-Focused Places
The best places in any city, town, or neighborhood are designed around the people who use them. They do more than move people through. They give people reasons to arrive, stay, gather, explore, and return. Human-scale places are those where buildings meet the street, daily needs are within reach, and the public realm offers something to notice, somewhere to pause, and someone to run into.
These places are diverse in use, rich in texture, and thoughtful in detail. They can take many forms: a neighborhood corridor, a small public square, a walkable block, or a transit node. What they share is a sense of welcome, activity, and belonging. They are the places that make a community feel like home.
From neighborhood parks and main street corridors to transit stops, trails, or plazas these are places that tell stories, honor culture, and create space for connection, care, and everyday belonging.
Theme Criteria Elements (select at least four)
Element
Walkability & Pedestrian Priority
What to Address in Long Description Examples
Is the place designed to make walking safe, comfortable, and enjoyable? Does it prioritize the pedestrian experience over vehicle throughput?
Mixed Use & GroundFloor Activation Does the place bring together multiple uses - housing, retail, services, civic, in a way that generates activity at the street level throughout the day?
Narrow lanes, wide sidewalks, short blocks, frequent crossings, shade canopy
Storefronts facing sidewalks, groundfloor retail with housing above, neighborhood-serving commercial
Neighborhood Connectivity Does the place serve as a node or anchor within a connected neighborhood network, linking people to daily needs within walking or biking distance?
Public Realm Quality Has attention been paid to the quality of the space between buildings, the sidewalks, furniture, trees, lighting, and details that make a place feel cared for and inviting?
Building-to-Street Relationship Do buildings engage with the street through doors, windows, stoops, and transparency rather than turning away from it with blank walls, parking lots, or setbacks?
Placemaking & Identity Does the place have a distinct character or identity that reflects the community it serves? Has it been shaped by local culture, history, or resident input?
Inclusivity & Access for All Is the place genuinely welcoming and accessible to people of all ages, abilities, incomes, and backgrounds?
Sustainability & Resilience Does the place incorporate green infrastructure, climate-adaptive design, or environmental features that contribute to long-term resilience?
15-minute neighborhood design, TOD nodes, corner stores, transit access
Street trees, benches, planters, human-scale lighting, outdoor dining, public art
Shopfronts, front porches, transparent facades, zero or minimal setbacks
Locally owned businesses, cultural programming, community-designed elements, neighborhood identity markers
Universal design, multilingual signage, affordable uses, seating for all ages
Tree canopy, permeable surfaces, stormwater management, coastal resilience features
The guidelines are provided below to help guide your description and we encourage you to use them if they apply. Please note that while descriptions are provided for four different categories of Places there is no set number of finalists per category, all categories will receive equal weight when looked at by the Selection Committee.
CATEGORIES
Street: A street or block designed at a human scale, where buildings, sidewalks, and uses work together to create a walkable, engaging public realm. Should not be located within a downtown boundary.
Public Space: A plaza, park, courtyard, or gathering place designed at a human scale to invite everyday use, rest, and social interaction within a neighborhood or district. Should not be located within a downtown boundary.
Greenway/Trail: A linear corridor that connects human-scale places to one another, providing low-stress access through neighborhoods, natural areas, or urban districts.
Downtown: A block, street, plaza, or district within a defined downtown that exemplifies human-scale design principles and the conditions for vibrant street life.
Remember, the criteria above have been provided to help guide submittals; they are by no means the only items that can be mentioned in the description of the Place. The guidelines and criteria set the minimum expectations for Entrants and the Selection Committee.
4. MEDIA
• All Entrants must submit between four (4) to eight (8) high quality images that demonstrate the qualities or characteristics that you are trying to highlight in your Long Description narrative. Photos with people in them are preferred but not mandatory.
• Image file types accepted: .JPG, .JPEG, .PNG,
• Image file size limit: 10 MB
• Each Entrant may, but is not required, submit one (1) video that highlights the Theme Criteria for the Place which you are nominating. You can upload the video into the Award entry system or provide a URL to a video on YouTube, Vimeo, or similar platform.
• Please review the Rules explanation of image usage and licensing.
