SCBIZ Daily Staff 

CHARLESTON -- Charleston’s Waterfront Park has made the American Planning Association’s 2008 list of the nation’s 10 great public spaces.

The professional planning association announced the country’s 10 great neighborhoods, 10 great streets and 10 great public spaces today. The lists are part of the association’s Great Places in America program, launched in 2007 to recognize what the group considers the essential building blocks of great communities.

The American Planning Association selects places annually that represent the “gold standard” in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement and a vision for tomorrow. They are places where people want to be, the group said.

The winners of Great Places in America 2008 are not ranked but are listed alphabetically.

2008 Great Public Spaces in America
Central Park, New York City.
Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, Vt.
Mellon Square, Pittsburgh.
Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland, Ore.
Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, Calif.
Union Station, Washington, D.C.
Waterfront Park, Charleston
Waterplace Park, Providence, R.I.
West Side Market, Cleveland.
Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza, Prescott, Ariz.

2008 Great Neighborhoods in America
Charles Village, Baltimore.
Downtown Salem, Salem, Mass.
Downtown Sheridan, Sheridan, Wyo.
Echo Park, Los Angeles.
Greater Park Hill, Denver.
Greater University Hill, Syracuse, N.Y.
North End, Boise, Idaho.
Old Town, Wichita, Kan.
Society Hill, Philadelphia.
Village of Mariemont, Mariemont, Ohio.

2008 Great Streets in America
7th Avenue, Ybor City, Tampa, Fla.
Broad Street, Philadelphia.
Clarendon and Wilson boulevards, Arlington, Va.
Commercial Street, Portland, Maine.
Main Street, Annapolis, Md.
Mill Avenue, Tempe, Ariz.
South El Paso Street, El Paso, Texas.
Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minn.
Washington Street, Boston.
West Main Street, Louisville, Ky.