Suisman Urban Design Wins Penn’s 2022 Planning Medal for Hartford 400
Suisman Urban Design and the iQuilt Partnership have been selected by the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design to receive the 2022 Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal in City and Regional Planning for Hartford 400.
The medal, bestowed annually by the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design to an outstanding plan in the United States. Hartford 400 is a comprehensive plan to make the Connecticut Valley and its capital city a sustainable, multi-modal region by its 400th anniversary in 2035. Selected from a list of nominees submitted by Weitzman students and faculty, Hartford 400 joins these previous medalists: the Fourth Regional Plan, Regional Plan Association (2019); GreenPlan Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia (2020); and the City of Minneapolis (2021).
“American cities of all sizes are facing once-in-a-generation challenges, but they are still our best engines for innovation and equity,” said Frederick Steiner, dean and Paley Professor at Weitzman. “Hartford 400 illustrates the opportunity for designers and urban planners to harness the built environment’s dynamism and complexity to improve the quality of life for all.”
The Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal in City and Regional Planning was established by William Witte (C‘73, MCP‘75), an alumnus of the Weitzman School, and his wife, Keiko Sakamoto, to recognize a firm, team, or professional for an exemplary plan that advances plan making in at least four of the following areas: social equity, environmental quality, design, public health, mobility, housing affordability, and economic development.
“We are thrilled to be honored with the Witte-Sakamoto Medal,” said Doug Suisman, principal of Suisman Urban Design, which led the Hartford 400 planning and design effort. “It’s especially gratifying to receive the award from the University of Pennsylvania, with its long history of inspired urban and regional design.” Suisman noted, “Following the medal’s previous award to Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and New York, Hartford finds itself in distinguished company. The credit for this national recognition is widely shared in the Hartford community by a host of organizations and individuals.” He added, “Looking past this momentary spotlight, I think the greatest impact of the Witte-Sakamoto Medal is its powerful vote of confidence, which will really help us advance the Hartford 400 vision.”
See more about Hartford400 HERE.
