• The Betty Strasenburgh Award for Activism: Named in honor of the longtime Rochester activist and philanthropist, this award recognizes civic spirit, persistence and determination in turning a vision into reality. Judges will consider: 
• Passion, endurance and advocacy to advance a difficult undertaking that may have included many steps and phases; 
• Actions to achieve a change to meet a community's needs; 
• Efforts that achieved an unambiguous, visible and significant change in a place;
• Commitment to involve community members, who then also pursued challenging paths.
• Robert Macon Award for Urban Innovation: This award honors the late architect Robert Macon's contributions to the Rochester area. Bob is remembered for his civic contributions and transformative projects that spanned a 30-year career. Eligible projects may be new designs or reuses of existing structures. Judges will consider: 
• Excellence in a building, development or planning effort that solved a design or reuse problem in a distinctive way; 
• The extent to which the completed project or established program demonstrates enduring and notable design or replicable reuse standards; 
• Application of technical solutions to a problem, including the use of quality materials; 
• Ability to integrate seamlessly into a community's context.

• Efforts that have enhanced the public realm and contributed to its vibrancy;
• Demonstrated high quality level of community design, planning, policy and expertise;
• Visible success of an endeavor over an extended period of time;
• Communication of a vision.