This awards program recognizes special public spaces, the corridors that connect them, or networks of public spaces which have been defined or enriched by planning or design, as well as regulations that promote positive public uses and benefits.
Sponsored by
- Vermont Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
- American Institute of Architects Vermont
- Vermont Planners Association
- Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program
Eligibility
Projects must be located in Vermont and be accessible to the public. Submissions may range from mature projects in place and in use to conceptual studies, plans, regulations to encourage public space, connective corridors, and networks of public spaces, or other endeavors and incentives to create, preserve or enhance individual interior or exterior public space or linked open spaces in Vermont. Submissions may include, but are not limited to open space associated with: Historic Preservation, Community Planning, Recreation Planning & Design and more (see Overview & Entry Form for complete list).
Submissions
An entry form (PDF below) must be completed and submitted with the required entry fee per submission. Entries should be submitted by email to bdoucette@segroup.com. The submission deadline has been extended to March 20, 2023.
Submissions must include a brief synopsis that outlines the design problem, community concern, local objective, or environmental issues, and how the space, corridor, plan, or solution addresses them. The form of the submissions is left to the entrant, but digital submission of photographs and/or drawings is required for all design projects.
- A combination of photographs and text is highly recommended.
- A maximum of 10 photographs and/or drawings which should be cleared for publication.
- Text should be limited to 2 pages.
- Maps or figures of the location and details.
Entry Submittal Fees
Public Agencies, Community Groups, Students: $25.00
All Other Submissions: $45.00
Checks should be made out to: Vermont Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects (VTASLA) and mailed to VTASLA c/o Mike Buscher, T. J. Boyle Associates, 301 College St., Burlington, VT 05401.
Questions
Questions about the 2023 Vermont Public Places awards can be e-mailed to Beau Doucette, bdoucette@segroup.com or Jim Donovan, jdonovan@gmavt.net

2021 Honor Awards
- A New Vision for Alburgh Dunes State Park Master Plan
- Burlington City Hall Park Restoration
- Charlotte World War I Memorial
- Elm Street Park in Randolph
- Saxtons River Park
- Shelburne Pierson Library and Historic Town Hall
- Union Elementary School Playground Project
Honor Awardees
A New Vision for Alburgh Dunes State Park Master Plan, created for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation by a design team led by LandWorks and including Maclay Architects and Engineering Ventures. The plan has been implemented and the results are quite positive.
Burlington City Hall Park Restoration, submitted by the City of Burlington and based on a plan developed by a team led by Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture and including City of Burlington team from the Departments of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront, Public Works, Planning, City Arts and Community and Economic Development. The implemented plan has increased the use of the park.
The Charlotte World War I Memorial, owned by the Town of Charlotte and lovingly maintained and renewed each season by Beth Sytsma and Ted Roberts, a local Charlotte family who undertake the work as a gesture of positive civic engagement. Much to the joy of Charlotte residents and motorists to or from the Charlotte Ferry.
The new Shelburne Pierson Library and Historic Town Hall, owned by the Town of Shelburne and designed by a team led by Vermont Integrated Architecture, PC. Opening in 2020, the new library was the culmination of a town wide effort to update and expand the former library with a new structure specifically built to be a library. Even during the pandemic, the Pierson Library has been open to the public and well used.
The Union Elementary School Playground Project, developed by the Montpelier Roxbury School District from plans developed by the SE Group with help from the students, parents and faculty of the school. The playground project not only created a newer and more inviting and interesting play space, but also corrected stormwater problems in the area and remediated unknown brownfield hazards.

2021 Merit Awards
- City Center Park, South Burlington
- DIY Community Cookbook
- Dog River Park, Northfield
- Fairlee Village Center Action Plan
Merit Awardees
City Center Park, owned by the City of South Burlington and designed by a team lead by LandWorks. The park is a low impact, natural area, designed to serve all of the city’s population while also be a local neighborhood oasis.
The DIY Community Cookbook, a do-it-yourself guide to making your community a more livable place, created by Community Workshop and AARP Vermont and written by Community Workshop. The Cookbook is organized to truly empower Vermonters to begin using pop-ups and placemaking techniques for public spaces by providing Vermont communities a resource truly designed for them – an accessible, inspiring guidebook that aims to make public space improvements doable for anyone, no matter what their skill level, budget, or community size.
Fairlee Village Center Action Plan, developed for the Town of Fairlee by a team led by DuBois & King. This plan seeks to help Fairlee create a vibrant downtown that slows visitors down, boosts opportunities for local commerce, and designs a streetscape that is at once beautiful and ecologically beneficial.
2019 Awards
Honor Awards
Merit Awards
- Newport Waterfront and Downtown Master Plan, Newport - Submitted by VHB
- Riverfront Green Space, Lyndon - Submitted by the Town of Lyndon
- Route 7 Livability Study, St. Albans Town and St. Albans City - Submitted by Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture
- Taylor Park Master Plan, St. Albans - Submitted by Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture
- Underwood Park Master Plan, South Burlington - Submitted by the SE Group
2017 Awards
Honor Awards
- Hinesburg Town Forest National Register Nomination, Hinesburg - Submitted by the Vermont State Division of Historic Preservation
- Lamoille Valley Railtrail Trailheads and Wayfinding, Lamoille County - Submitted by the Lamoille County Planning Commission
- Spruce Peak Village Center, Stowe - Submitted by the SE Group
- Stone Valley Bikeway Development Plan, Rutland and Bennington Counties - Submitted by Broadreach Planning & Design
- Veterans Memorial, Shelburne - Submitted by T. J. Boyle Associates