April is American City Quality Month

April has been designated American City Quality Month by the National League of Cities, The     U.S. Conference of Mayors, the American City Planning Directors' Council and the American City Quality Foundation to annually focus national and local public attention on the status and future of America's cities and to promote better city planning, decisions, design, development, management and action to improve our cities.

Billions of tax dollars have been invested in our central cities. Yet for many, they remain abandoned by families, businesses, workers and tourists. What is needed is a new vision for our cities to restore their economic vitality, safety, and beauty; to make them better places to live, work and play. New vision to preserve and improve our investment. New approaches to land use, housing, transportation, education, safety, environmental protection, finance, planning, development and management. New approaches to public/private sector partnerships, entrepreneurship, management and investment.

The annual, national, month-long program focuses on city planning, decisions, design, development, management and action to improve America's cities.

• City Planning Directors, in conjunction with their Mayors and other locally elected officials and other public and private sector civic leaders, conduct a variety of events to raise public awareness including: holding public meetings to discuss city planning and development issues; sponsoring exhibits on new plans and programs for community revitalization; and discussing urban issues and opportunities with local students.
• Corporations are urged to sponsor public national advertisements describing what they are doing to help improve the quality of America's cities.
• Local city planning and other civic organizations are urged to hold meetings and initiate projects to improve cities.
• Schools are encouraged to develop educational programs on cities and how they can be improved (e.g. build models, write essays, and draw pictures).
• City planning universities and schools are urged to initiate teaching programs and activities to raise public awareness.
• Local and national media are encouraged to report and/or publish articles on the status and future of cities and how they can be improved.

Participation/Roles

Aside from national objectives and themes, ACQM is a locally-driven and implemented program. Participation in ACQM is open to any city or community and any private business or civic organization. The City Planning Director is the central point of contact for ACQM activities.     Persons or organizations interested in participating are encouraged to contact their City Planning Director. Also, to facilitate communication and coordination about activities, City Planning Directors are requested to notify ACQF about their activities.

In support of ACQM, ACQF will issue planning kits, media kits, corporate sponsor kits and information on planned activities.

Any questions or inquiries may be directed to ACQF. 

Promotional Resources:

Press Release Sample

Proclamation Sample

Proclamation Sample: City

Proclamation Sample: State

Congressional Record Statement

2010 Poster: Click on the poster below and print out on 8 1/2" x 11" paper or larger size paper for poster size.

American City Quality Month Chairs:

2011- Jenni Faulkner, Burnsville, MN

2010- Neal Peirce- Honorary Chair

2010- Kenneth Gutierrez- Riverside, CA and Kairo Shen, Boston

2009- Kenneth Gastil- Seattle, WA and Jamess Hayes- Northglenn, CO

Maury Plambeck- Indianapolis, IN

Bob Atallo- Madison, AL

Kevin O'Brien- Arlington, MA

Geoff Olson- Minnetonka, MN

Marvin Krout- Wichita, KS 

Karyn Gilvarg- New Haven, CT 

American City Quality Month Posters:

2010 ACQM Poster

2009 ACQM Poster

National League of Cities

The National League of Cities is the country's oldest, largest and most representative organization serving municipal governments. Founded in 1924 as the American Municipal Association by ten state municipal leagues, today its direct members include 49 state municipal leagues and more than 1,400 communities of all sizes. Through the membership of the state municipal leagues, NLC represents more that 17,000 municipalities.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities of 30,000 or more. There are well over 1,150 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief official, the mayor.
Established in 1932, the Conference helps mayors and citizens of America's principal cities meet the challenges and fulfill the potenital of urban America. The Conference also informs Congress and the Administration of the top priorities of cities.

Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute, established in 1936, is
a nonprofit educational research institute that studies land use and real estate development policy and practice. Today ULI has approximately 15,000 members in 52 countries, representing more than 26 disciplines in the public and private sectors including developers, public officials, investors, property owners, consultants, architects, analysts, planners, academics brokers and lenders. Identified by the media as the "real estate think tank," ULI has long been recognized as America's most respected and widely quoted source of objective information on real estate and land-use development. ULI is based in Washington, D.C.

National Building Museum

The National Building Museum based in Washington, D.C. is a private, nonprofit educational institution created by the U.S. Congress in 1980 to celebrate American achievements in engineering, and design. It presents exhibitions and educational programs, collects building artifacts and publishes books and a quarterly journal.

Partners for Livable Communities

City Planning and Management Division- American Planning Association

American Public Transportation Association

Mayors' Institute on City Design

The Mayors' Institute on City Design (MICD) is a partnership program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Architectural Foundation, and the United States Conference of Mayors. Since 1986, the Mayors' Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. The MICD achieves its mission by organizing sessions where mayors engage leading design experts to find solutions to the most critical urban design challenges facing their cities.

International City/County Management Association

American Society of Landscape Architects 

Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals

Eco-Home Network

For questions or information about American City Quality Month contact the ACQF office.

"American City Quality Month" and "City Quality" are trademarks of the             American City Quality Foundation, Inc.