Birmingham's Highland Park neighborhood has won a prestigious spot as one of 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2011 by the American Planning Association.

"It's lovely to have the recognition. First of all, it's recognition of what all our hard work has amounted to," said Alison Glascock, president of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association. "It's also a recognition of the support we get from the city. We couldn't do it without them."

The Chicago and Washington, D.C.-based organization made the announcement early this morning.

Highland Park one of 10 Great Neighborhoods 7 Gallery: Highland Park one of 10 Great Neighborhoods

It singled out Highland Park for its distinctive public spaces, mix of land uses and housing options that promote community diversity, according to an APA news release. It also noted the neighborhood's "picturesque setting and strategic location," which have attracted families and individuals for generations.

The neighborhood applied for Great Neighborhoods recognition in February. It was a painstaking process that included in-depth research and documentation, Glascock said. The APA requested additional information last spring, and that was submitted in June.

Among the detailed information and answers sought were to questions such as, what attracts people to the neighborhood and what options in housing diversity are available, Glascock said.

"We have everything from apartments that are $400 a month to $1 million houses," she said.

Highland Park, roughly bordered by University and Clairmont avenues to the north, Red Mountain to the south, part of 22nd Street South on the west and the Highland Golf Course on the east, contains a diversity of people and places.

Within that space are a major medical institution, St. Vincent's Hospital; small businesses; restaurants; a residential recovery center for women with addictions and two small private schools, Glascock said. There are beautiful open spaces -- Caldwell, Rhodes and Rushton parks along Highland Avenue -- a landscaped boulevard that draws walkers and bicycle riders.

"Above everything else Highland Park has is its location. All these things you can get in a suburb but it's close in" to the city center, Glascock said.

The neighborhood has worked hard to preserve its historic integrity, such as working with city officials to "downzone" 50 historic houses from multiple-family zoning to single-family residential, beginning in the late 1990s, Glascock said. All the houses were being used as single-family and a zoning change will keep them that way, she said.

Over the years the neighborhood worked to establish five national historic districts in Highland Park. The Highland Park Local Historic District was created to cover the five national districts. Properties in the local district are subject to design review before exterior changes can be made, something that protects the neighborhood, Glascock said.

"They've made a real effort to preserve what's left," said James L. Baggett, the city's archivist.

Highland Park's history begins in the late 19th century when it was an independent municipality and one of Birmingham's first streetcar suburbs, Baggett said. Prominent bankers, real estate developers, politicians and other wealthy people built large houses and mansions that were far from the industrial pollution choking those who lived in Birmingham's Jones Valley.

"Highland Park's been a great model for the rest of the city," Mayor William Bell said Monday, adding he hopes the neighborhood will share its enthusiasm and insight with other Birmingham neighborhoods, perhaps through workshops.

The neighborhood will be honored at this morning's meeting of the Birmingham City Council, Glascock said.

It's not the first time Birmingham has been recognized by the prestigious, nonprofit organization. Last year the outdoor Ireland Sculpture Garden at the Birmingham Museum of Art was named one of APA's 10 Great Public Spaces.

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