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June 26, 2007 (MINNEAPOLIS) -- Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and the Minneapolis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are calling for applications for a second round of the Mayor’s Great City Design Teams, encouraging residents and community groups to create new visions for the City of Minneapolis.

The Mayor’s Great City Design Teams are made up of architects, landscape architects, urban designers and developers who work with Minneapolis residents and community groups to develop design visions for opportunity sites in their neighborhoods. Rybak’s Design Teams are comprised of volunteer professionals from AIA Minneapolis, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Minneapolis Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (MASLA).

“The purpose of the Mayor’s Great City Design Teams is to help residents develop community visions for their neighborhood, energize neighbors into action and help more residents understand urban design and development planning,” Mayor Rybak said. “There is a place for everyone’s ideas as we work together to create a vision of Minneapolis as the greatest city of our time.”

Mayor Rybak’s first Great City Design Team recently announced a new vision for Washington Avenue (www.thenewwashingtonblvd.com) and a first round of open-application neighborhood Great City Design Teams have been working since January on visions in five neighborhoods:

Nicollet Avenue and 18th Street
46th Street S. and 46th Avenue E.
40th Street and Lyndale Avenue S.
Central Avenue NE and NE Lowry Avenue
Penn Avenue N. and N. Lowry Avenue

“We are proud and excited to work with Mayor Rybak on this groundbreaking partnership as a way to celebrate AIA’s 150 anniversary,” AIA Minneapolis President Brian Tempas said. “Individually, these projects will develop a creative vision for local sites, but together, the resulting visions will show a rewoven city of great neighborhoods, great buildings, and great spaces better linked together.”

Any citizen group or community-based organization in Minneapolis may apply for a Design Team. A selection committee will select up to five projects to be completed in early 2008. Each volunteer Design Team will work with their chosen community-based partners on a vision and principles for future neighborhood improvements, with exact composition and resources determined on a case-by-case basis.

Mayor Rybak’s Great City Design Team projects can be an individual site, an intersection or several blocks along a corridor. Ideal projects identify a specific gap in the urban fabric and have a community-based partner. Proposed projects should also show community need, public benefit, political and community support, potential for implementation, project timing and consistency with Minneapolis city planning.

Selected projects should also reflect AIA’s 10 Principles of Livable Communities:

1. Design on a Human Scale

2. Provide Choices

3. Encourage Mixed-Uses

4. Preserve Urban Centers

5. Provide Transportation Options

6. Build Vibrant Public Spaces

7. Create Neighborhood Identity

8. Protect Environmental Resources

9. Conserve Landscape

10. Ensure Design Matters

How to Apply:

Community organizations interested in applying for a Mayor’s Great City Design Team need to submit a letter of interest by Thursday, August 16th to AIA 150th Mayor’s Great City Design Team, International Market Square, 275 Market Street, Suite 54, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405.

An informational meeting will be held on Thursday, July 26th from 4:30-5:30pm at the AIA, International Market Square, 275 Market Street, Suite 54. For more information or to discuss an idea before deciding to apply, interested groups can contact Destin Nygard at mdnygard@archalliance.com or visit the Design Teams website at http://www.greatcitydesignteams.org.