What does a Strong Town really look like?
Last week, we answered some of the most common questions we receive about our annual Strongest Town contest—questions about who can nominate (anyone), when applications are due (February 23), about size and location, and about how far along a town needs to be on its Strong Towns “journey.”
What we hope came through is that there is no template for a Strongest Town—we’ve received solid applications from communities of all sizes and from all over the globe—and that we don’t expect perfection: “Our focus is on finding the town that is doing its best to become strong.”
To help you get a deeper sense of what a Strong Town can look like, we thought it might be helpful to revisit some of our past winners. At each of the links below, you can follow the progress of that year’s winning town or city. We hope this gives you a sense of what is possible and what makes for a strong application. (Note: We’ve rearranged the application for this year. We’ve also made it shorter.)
This April, we will be announcing the fifth winner of our Strongest Town contest. Will it be your town? It very well could be.
2019: Pensacola, Floria
Photo courtesy of Quint Studer
Pensacola impressed us from the start with a Round One application that emphasized its remarkable turnaround in the past decade. The city is growing in population, it is dramatically expanding its local economy and tax base, and it’s doing it largely by focusing on the city’s heart and soul: its historic downtown, which was first built in the 18th century. Pensacola understands that mixed-use, walkable development is a gold mine for cities, and it has encouraged the rehabilitation of vacant sites and amended its codes to promote pedestrian-friendly design, resulting in a lively downtown that is once again the pride of the Florida Panhandle.
2018: Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon residents build a garden in a vacant lot.
Muskegon shone from the beginning with an initial application that touted the community's enthusiastic strong citizen spirit, its wildly successful farmers market, its commitment to rebuilding its downtown, and the many ways in which the town makes good use of its active Lake Michigan waterfront.
Front Street in Traverse City during the summer. (Photo by Russ Soyring)
2017: Traverse City, Michigan
Throughout the contest, we learned about Traverse City's fun-loving, active population that takes pride in its local businesses and collaboratively addresses challenges. Traverse City stood out as a town where multi-modal transportation is key, where small businesses thrive, and where natural beauty is beloved and prioritized.
How did Traverse City come to be named 2017’s Strongest Town? Find out here.
2016: Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Photo by Doug Kerr
[Carlisle] has proven its commitment to safe, accessible transportation with a recent road diet down its main street, new bike/walk trails and bus routes. Children in this town regularly walk to school. Its community organizations have come together to improve the public realm through parks, gardens and events, and its local colleges play a central role in the life of the town. Diverse residents make their home in this place, and challenges like the loss of factory jobs are met as opportunities for growth and transformation.
Carlisle was first-ever Strongest Town winner. Here’s its story.