February 01, 2009
Bob Peters (right), president of the Robert Peters Company, talks about the contributions of Alden Aust at Omaha by Design’s annual awards luncheon Jan. 26. Aust (pictured at left) was presented with the 2008 Laurels Award, Omaha by Design’s highest honor.
Alden Aust, the father of the planning profession in Omaha, is the 2008 recipient of Omaha by Design’s Laurels Award. The award, Omaha by Design’s highest honor, is presented to an individual, organization or business that has made significant contributions to the creation of great public spaces in the metro.
Steve Jensen, the city’s current planning director and 2007 Laurels recipient, presented Aust with the award Jan. 26 at Omaha by Design’s annual awards luncheon.
Aust, Omaha’s first planning director, was recognized for the lasting impact of his visionary career on the city’s public spaces. He began his 24-year tenure with the city in 1956, building and staffing a fledgling planning department that – under his tutelage – developed into an influential advocate for community quality and investment. Last April, Aust was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). The honor, one of the highest bestowed by the AICP, recognizes the achievements of the inductee as an individual, elevating the Fellow before the public and the profession as a model planner who has made significant contributions to planning and society.
“Even though most Omahans today would not realize it, the City of Omaha would not be the city it is today without Mr. Aust’s extraordinary vision and leadership,” Jenson said. Among the many other factors contributing to Aust’s unanimous selection:
- His nurturing of productive partnerships between business leaders and the planning department – a working model that remains in place to this day.
- His development and implementation of the city’s first subdivision ordinance. He also prepared and implemented the city’s first comprehensive plan elements, including land use, parks and recreation, and transportation. The parks element included the unprecedented concept of using creek corridors as greenways and trails – the foundation of the city’s trail system as well as Omaha by Design’s Green Omaha projects and activities.
- His preparation of Omaha’s first master plan for downtown development, which helped bring about major office construction, identified a site for the new Civic Center and proposed the idea of a transit mall along the main street of the central business district.
- His establishment of an urban design section within the planning department, his fashioning and leading Omaha’s aggressive annexation program, his initiation and management of the Return to the River planning program, and his initiation and implementation of the Urban Development Policy – a pioneering and successful growth management program that required contiguous growth of new development controlled by the incremental extension of interceptor sewer lines.
- His efforts to plan a public botanical garden on the site of a former landfill overlooking the Missouri River. Twenty-five years and $20 million worth of investment later, Lauritzen Gardens in south Omaha is one of the city’s marquee tourist attractions.
The awards luncheon also recognized the 2008 recipients of Omaha by Design’s trio of awards – the Green Leaf, Civic Leaf and Neighborhood Leaf.
The Green Leaf – which honors an individual, organization or business that has worked to preserve and enhance the metropolitan area’s natural setting and public park system – was awarded to The Gallup Organization for the creation of a 20-acre native meadow on the front lawn of its riverfront campus.
The Civic Leaf – which honors an individual, organization or business that has worked to define and improve the metropolitan area’s civic places and public image – was awarded to Metropolitan Community College (MCC), Omaha Public Library and Metro Area Transit for the development of MCC’s South Omaha Campus Connector.
The Neighborhood Leaf – which honors an individual, organization or business that has worked to preserve and enhance the metropolitan area’s residential neighborhoods – was awarded to Community Bicycle Shop Omaha, whose mission is to provide a positive environment for learning the basics of bicycle mechanics, to repair and distribute pre-owned bicycles, to build community, and to promote safe cycling and riding.