Neighborhood America's "Imagine New York" Project Receives National Planning Award

April 7, 2003 - Naples-based technology company Neighborhood America was recognized at the American Planning Association (APA) national conference for one of its projects, "Imagine New York." The project received the "American Vision Award" from the APA National Awards Jury at the organization's annual conference that concluded last week in Denver.

Imagine New York began in March of 2002 by the Municipal Art Society of New York, a customer of Neighborhood America, to solicit the ideas and visions of the public for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site and Lower Manhattan.

Neighborhood America created an Internet-based Public Communications System™ for the Society that received and organized more than 25,000 on-line comments and submissions gathered from across the New York region, the country and the world. The system, along with facilitated workshops in the New York area, helped expand the Society's outreach effort.

According to the APA, the organization felt Imagine New York was so deserving of recognition, that it created the special award to honor the project. "The 2003 APA awards jury was impressed by the unique way that Imagine New York brought together people who would not normally think of themselves as planners in a collective effort to rebuild their community," said APA Executive Director Paul Farmer. "

Neighborhood America president and CEO Kim Patrick Kobza commented about the company's role in the project stating, "we are pleased to support and be a part of Imagine New York and to provide support for the Municipal Art Society in their mission to collect public opinion. We believe, that because of its size and complexity, the Imagine New system will establish a standard for the electronic management of public opinion for the next several years and beyond throughout the country."