The parks and waterfront of Southeast False Creek have netted the City of Vancouver a prestigious award from the Urban Land Institute.

Along with Washington, D.C.'s Yards Park, Vancouver's former Olympic Village was announced on Thursday (November 7) as a winner of the 2013 Urban Open Space Award.

"The award recognizes outstanding examples of transformative and vibrant public open space – large and small – that have spurred economic and social regeneration of their adjacent communities," the ULI website states. "Each of the winning projects receives a cash prize that can be used for maintenance and upkeep of the parks."

Southeast False Creek and Yards Park beat out finalists Wilmington Waterfront Park (Wilmington, California), Cumberland Park (Nashville, Tennessee), and Brooklyn Bridge Park (New York City) to snag top honours.

PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. designed Southeast False Creek's parks and waterfront, which include Hinge Park and Habitat Island.

"Often, the most storied districts in seaside towns are their waterfronts," the ULI site states. "During its former industrial life, the Vancouver waterfront teemed with thousands of workers, as well as ship and rail traffic converging to exchange goods. In the 1950s, 5 percent of Vancouver’s workforce, about 7,400 people, worked in industries on False Creek. The transition from abandoned industrial site to vibrant sustainable community relied heavily on the successful re-envisioning of the waterfront."

The City of Vancouver and the District of Columbia will split the $10,000 cash prize.