PHILADELPHIA – Three urban leaders have been honored by the Penn Institute for Urban Research at the 5th Annual Urban Leadership Forum, “Building Competitive and Sustainable Cities,” at the University of Pennsylvania.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening and Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution were singled out as exemplary leaders guiding cities toward a sustainable future.

Franklin is a native Philadelphian and an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2001S, she became the first female mayor of Atlanta and the first African-American woman mayor of a major southern city.

In 2005, she was named one of the nation’s best leaders by U.S. News & World Report, and Time magazine has ranked her as one of the five best mayors in America. She has overseen a $3.2 billion overhaul of the Atlanta water and sewer system, made Atlanta a national frontrunner in number of LEED-certified buildings and was one for the first to sign on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.

Glendening is founder and president of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute. As governor of Maryland, through initiatives like the Historic Preservation Tax Credit and the Rural Legacy Plan, he made smart growth a central feature of his administration and showed that economic growth and environmental concern could go hand in hand. As president of the institute, he shares his experiences with communities and municipal governments around the nation as they seek to grow green.

Katz is founding director and vice president of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program, which seeks to redefine the challenges facing cities and metropolitan areas by publishing research on major demographic, market, development and governance trends. His is currently on leave, serving as a senior advisor to the secretary of housing and urban development.

Katz was formerly chief of staff to former HUD Secretary Henry G. Cisneros and staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs. He is a recipient of the Heinz Award in Public Policy.

Additional information on Penn IUR and the Urban Leadership Forum is available at www.upenn.edu/penniur.