A New York City think tank focused on making cities more livable will honor Mayor Martin O'Malley today with its Urban Innovator Award.

O'Malley will become the fourth mayor to receive the award since the Manhattan Institute's Center for Civic Innovation created it two years ago.

Richard M. Daley of Chicago won it in 2000. Jerry Brown of Oakland, Calif., shared the honor with Norm Coleman of St. Paul, Minn., last year.

"We try to keep track of what mayors are doing around the country," said Henry Olsen, executive director of the center. "We think [O'Malley] has done an outstanding job in a number of areas, particularly in the area of crime reduction."

The center, established seven years ago, created the award to recognize mayors who are making cities better places to live, Olsen said.

"We study trends in urban life and we try to promote public policies that will improve the quality of life, particularly in crime and education," he said.

The center recognized Daley for his work in education reform, Olsen said.

Brown and Coleman were honored because of their support for charter schools, he said.

Olsen praised O'Malley for improving accountability in the Police Department through Comstat, a crime-tracking tool.

He also applauded the mayor for implementing a similar program, CitiStat, to monitor the performance of other city agencies.

Not only did he have a specific accomplishment," Olsen said, referring to crime reduction, "but he embraces the spirit of civic innovation."

The center will present the award to O'Malley at a luncheon at The Admiral Fell Inn.