The University of Pennsylvania's School of Design launched the new Witte-Sakamoto Family Prize and Award in City and Regional Planning, thanks to a $1.25 million gift from PennDesign alumnus William Witte and his wife Keiko Sakamoto. In conjunction with the prize, a new professional award for innovation and positive impact in planning was also announced.

The yearly $50,000 fellowship will be awarded to an outstanding student entering their final year in the school's Master of City and Regional Planning program. The professional award will be presented to a firm, team, or individual professional for an exemplary planning project that advances plan-making in at least four of the following areas: social equity, environmental quality, design, public health, mobility, housing affordability, and economic development.

“It’s incumbent on those of us who work on cities to make sure that we not only practice responsible development, but that it’s holistic and we deal with all these different issues,” said Witte, who has had a lifelong interest in studying cities. “I want to encourage students to think big, think in a multi-disciplinary way, and make a difference in a community.”

The inaugural winners of the prize and professional award will be announced next spring.

In a similar announcement last year, PennDesign received a $1.25 million donation from alumna Lori Kanter Tritsch to create the $50,000 Kanter Tritsch Prize in Energy and Architectural Innovation, as well as the Kanter Tritsch Medal for Excellence in Architecture and Environmental Design.