MENU What are you looking for? Submit Search Home Page / About Scottsdale / Recognition and Rankings Recognition and Rankings Scottsdale has earned our reputation as a world-class community. Here are some of the city's latest awards and accolades. WestWorld of Scottsdale named "Facility of the Year." The League of Agricultural & Equine Centers presented WestWorld of Scottsdale with the 2020 Facility of the Year Award at its annual symposium. WestWorld encompasses more than 300,000 square feet of exhibition space that offers unlimited possibilities for event producers and planners. The facility hosts horse shows, auto auctions, various expos, concerts and more. Engineering News-Record Southwest names Scottsdale Airport best redevelopment project. The Aviation Business Center and executive hangars redevelopment consolidated the center's administrative offices, customs operations and tenant spaces. A public plaza connects the 23,781 square-foot center to the 30,000 square-foot executive hangars. The aviation campus includes a restaurant, a break room and conference room. Watch a construction time-lapse video. Scottsdale Water captures prestigious Crescordia Sustainability Champion. This award recognizes an organization or program that creates a culture of sustainability both in their organization and the community, demonstrates a meaningful impact in advancing sustainable program and serves as a model for environmental leadership. In awarding Scottsdale Water the prestigious honor, Arizona Forward recognized the utility’s long history of innovative programs that support environmental stewardship and leadership, including: Scottsdale’s Advanced Water Treatment Plant, Scottsdale Water Conservation Office, Scottsdale Water’s Choose Tap! Campaign and Scottsdale Water’s leadership in energy management. Scottsdale awarded ASU-KER initiative inaugural Resilience Prize. Arizona State University’s Knowledge Exchange for Resilience recognized Scottsdale this month for creating the Indian Bend Wash. KER was launched in 2018 with a $15 million gift from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. Its mission is to build resilient communities through knowledge sharing. The Knowledge Exchange for Resilience Class of 2020 fellows are tasked with identifying vulnerabilities in Maricopa County communities and responding to those challenges together. Canal Convergence wins top international events award. Scottsdale Arts took home 12 awards from the 64th Annual International Festivals & Events Association Convention, Expo & Retreat, including the top honor for Canal Convergence. The Pinnacle Awards recognize the best festivals and events from around the world. Canal Convergence won the Gold Grand Pinnacle Award in its category and three other honors. Scottsdale Arts Festival also won eight more awards, including four Gold recognitions. The professional competition draws entries from some of the world’s top festivals and events, with those responsible for those events voting for their peers. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Scottsdale home is now a World Heritage site. Frank Lloyd Wright's Scottsdale home and seven other buildings designed by the famed architect were named "World Heritage" sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Taliesin West was among the Wright-designed works chosen for UNESCO's list that sought to honor the architect's 50+-year career. Wright's work is recognized on the world stage with the likes of the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids of Giza and the Statue of Liberty. (July 2019) Scottsdale achieves What Works Cities Silver Certification. A Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative, the certification rates how well cities are managed by measuring the extent to which city leaders incorporate data and evidence in their decision-making. Scottsdale was recognized for adopting a business mindset to run a well-managed government, embracing transparency, embedding data in decision-making – and several other accomplishments that resulted from those practices. Scottsdale was one of seven cities to achieve 2019 What Works Cities Certification and the smallest city to be certified to-date. (April 2019) Scottsdale's Railroad Park Captures Best Park Award. After a long bracketed battle of the 32 best local parks in America, McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale has come out on top. The Scottsdale park earned the 2019 Engaging Local Government Leaders Knope Award in early April for best local parks and open spaces. The annual award, named for Amy Poehler's character Leslie Knope from the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation,"honors local government facilities. Parks were this year's focus, but libraries and city hall buildings previously have been honored. ELGL sponsors the award, links to external site and it is named for Deputy Parks Director Leslie Knope from the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. The award recognizes the best places in local government, which this year focused on the best publicly-owned local park or open space. Scottsdale earns Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was recognized by the Government Finance Officers’ Association. This certificate is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. (April 2019) Operation Fix It receives Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation Award. This award recognizes programs that successfully confront an important service delivery dilemma and had a positive impact and benefit to the community. (April 2019) Tourism and Events wins six advertising awards for Old Town rebranding. The Phoenix Chapter of the American Advertising Federation presented ADDY Awards (PDF) for the Old Town Rebrand Campaign, including three gold level awards (for magazine print, outdoor board advertising and integrated campaign), one silver award (for magazine print) and one bronze (for outdoor board). The Tourism and Events Department was also awarded the coveted Judge’s Choice Award for the entire campaign. (March 2019) Scottsdale earned its 29th consecutive “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.” This highest form of recognition in government budgeting is awarded by an independent panel of peer reviewers from across the United States and Canada. Scottsdale’s FY 2018/19 budget document once again passed muster, meeting or exceeding standards as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device. Scottsdale Water featured in the EPA’s newest management publication. The city is one of five utilities nationwide highlighted in Effective Utility Management in Action, Utility Case Examples. The case examples inform utilities about how peer water service providers have integrated Effective Utility Management–a utility-specific continual improvement program–into their day-to-day operations and future planning initiatives. (February 2019) About Scottsdale Awards and Recognition Images of Scottsdale Historic Scottsdale Photos Love Scottsdale Campaign Scottsdale History View 2017 Digital Cities Survey