Two Queensland councils have received top awards at the 2012 Planning Institute of Australia Awards for Planning Excellence.

Brisbane City Council's Urban Renewal Program Urban Renewal Brisbane - 20 years took out the inaugural category From Plan to Place Award.

Urban Renewal Brisbane is a program of rejuvenation started by the council in 1991. It is responsible for managing and revitalising Brisbane's inner city areas and has been awarded a dozen PIA planning awards in the past 20 years.

Judges said the project was a clear demonstration of a long-term vision being delivered in partnership with the private sector and the community over two decades.

Redland City Council was a key player in the Best Planning Ideas Award which was presented for a project called Child and Youth Friendly City. The project was classified by the judges as a case study for city planners to consider.

The judges said the project team of Redland Council, Griffith University, Laurel Johnson and Play Environment Consulting provided an important insight into how planning and design of the built environment should consider young people with exercise at the centre of child and youth happiness.

General Manager, Land Use Planning at the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, Brendan Nelson, was named the inaugural Australian Planner of the Year. Mr Nelson is driving the rebuilding of Queensland regions devastated in the 2010/2011 floods.

The judges noted he had progressed reconstruction efforts through clear and focused leadership. They stated his outstanding contribution in reconstruction programs including the preparation of legislation, provided significant support to the Queensland community and raised the profile of planning in a positive way.

Copy from LG News.