LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Dec. 10, 2015) – The City of Little Rock received two 2015 City of Distinction awards and one honorable mention for initiatives in the areas of workforce development, main street preservation, and tourism.

Arkansas Business Publishing Group created the City of Distinction program to honor outstanding initiatives taking place in communities across the state. The Department of Community Programs received the Workforce Development honor in cities of more than 20,000 for its Summer Youth Employment Program, while the City was honored for its ongoing Creative Corridor project.

Since 1996, the City of Little Rock’s Summer Youth Employment Program has given youth between the ages of 16 to 21 the opportunities to learn about careers while earning a wage during the summer. In this program, private sector businesses and government at all levels partner with the City of Little Rock to offer positions for youth employees.  These partners work with the City and several community stakeholders to help the youth develop the critical skills necessary to be successful members of the workforce.

The Little Rock Main Street Creative Corridor is revitalizing Main Street one block at a time, using economic development stimulated by the arts rather than a traditional retail base. The Creative Corridor is rapidly becoming a mixed-use, work-live environment that is also sensitive to the historical context of Main Street in Little Rock. The project involves several City departments, with the Grants division working on Low Impact Development (LID) streetscapes, with funding by a grant from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These include rain gardens, porous pavers, bio-swales, and other techniques to improve water quality.

The City received an honorable mention in the tourism category for an initiative to infuse the streets with arts via the Sculpture at the River Market program.