Strongest Town 2022, Round 2: Taylor, TX vs. Norwood, OH
Welcome to the second round match-up in the seventh annual Strongest Town Contest! In this round, eight towns are facing off, and four will advance to the next segment of the contest based on your votes. We invite you to review photos and captions representatives from these two cities provided to our questions about economic resilience, citizen involvement, community response to the pandemic, and more. Then vote for the strongest candidate at the bottom of this page.
Can’t decide? If you’re looking for inspiration, check out how we describe the Strong Towns approach.
You may vote once per match-up. Round 2 voting closes at noon CT on Thursday, March 17. For rules, and to follow along with the contest, visit the Strongest Town Contest page.
Note: All entries are lightly edited for clarity and readability.
TAYLOR, TX
Entry submitted by: Brandt Rydell, Brian LaBorde, Jeff Jenkins, Tom Yantis, Colin Harrison.
Community character is an important aspect of our city and the reason that many business owners choose to locate here. When we studied what created the community character that everyone loves about Taylor, what we found was that there are specific physical attributes that create that character in the built environment. We found that our older neighborhoods have a certain DNA to them that some of the newer areas of town don't have. We're now in the process of distilling the DNA of the older parts of town and re-writing our development regulations to include that DNA in new developments. This includes ensuring we create new neighborhoods that are human scale with short, walkable blocks and that our traditional grid street network is extended as we grow.
In the City of Taylor we encourage smart investments that maximize the use of our existing infrastructure to provide the financial resources we need to ensure the city’s long-term financial sustainability. The McCrory Timmerman Building in our Downtown District is a perfect example of using existing infrastructure—the 33,000 square feet building is the cornerstone that anchors the northwest corner of Main and Second Streets and features prime retail space, secure and spacious loft apartments, creative and exhibition spaces for artists, and modern office suites, including incubator offices to help foster young entrepreneurship. This project is now generating significant new revenue to the city without the need to expand our infrastructure systems.
The City of Taylor recently invested in significant improvements to all of our parks, which are a point of pride for our city and an important part of ensuring that all people and communities in Taylor benefit from growth. One project that we were all especially proud of was the completion of the Dickey-Givens Community Center, which is a gathering place for the Taylor community. The Center has a special significance for the city, as it replaces an older historical building in the same location that was a gathering place for the African-American community in Taylor for nearly 80 years, serving as a location for health clinics, tax clinics, wedding receptions, post-funeral receptions, dances, proms, and a teen activity center. The Center is now the location for important community conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion and we are excited to see the legacy of the original Center live on in this new building.
The City of Taylor is a proud participant (in partnership with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs) in the HOME Program, which provides funding for rehabilitation or reconstruction of single-family homes for eligible applicants. This is part of our efforts to ensure that housing in the City of Taylor accommodates all ages, abilities, household types, and income levels. Our Comprehensive Plan focuses on providing more housing choices as we grow. By encouraging the construction of a variety of housing types, from duplexes to townhouses to even tiny houses, this plan will help ensure that everyone in Taylor can find a home that they can afford. In addition, the city is dedicated to preserving existing housing with programs that will assist residents in maintaining older homes, selling off portions of larger loges, or building additional smaller units that can help mitigate displacement caused by rising property values.
The City of Taylor is committed to sustaining and expanding our unique local businesses, and we learned during the recent pandemic just how important those businesses are to our city, when we were excited to see our downtown survive and thrive with a net increase in businesses during a very difficult time. As we monitored our sales tax revenues during the pandemic, what we found was that they actually increased. We attribute that to more people working from home and spending their tax dollars in town instead of closer to their place of work, and it reinforced the priority of creating more job opportunities to help sustain and grow the local economy. Old Taylor High is one of the unique local businesses that was developed during this time, and we are excited at the prospect of the new businesses it will help grow in our City.
NORWOOD, OH
Entry submitted by: Alisha Loch.
The people of Norwood are the city’s greatest resource, 20 of which were honored at this year’s Gems of the Community celebration, an exciting and heartwarming evening made possible by collaboration between residents, city officials, and several local small business owners. From a 10-year-old who started a newspaper to a mom-and–pop restaurant that is a community gathering spot for everything from a Friday night burger to fundraisers and funerals, these dedicated residents were acknowledged by their neighbors for making Norwood a great place to live.
When the city was in financial distress, volunteers kept our parks and streets clean. In a catastrophic flood, neighbors helped dry out homes and delivered supplies. Every year we celebrate our community with the Norwood Day Parade. Ideas abound and residents feel empowered by the city administration to make things happen. Everyday, Norwood is a place where people feel connected, make a difference, and take time to say “thank you.”
Norwood City School District is at the heart of our community. Students go to school with their neighbors in Norwood’s walkable district, and families often linger to chat at drop-off and pick-up. Supportive voters approved the renovation of the five historic school buildings, and in addition to providing a quality education to students, schools serve as gathering spots for sports, arts performances, and other events. The district, city administration, and residents collaborate to take care of Norwood’s children to both provide practical help—such as services for Norwood children from birth to 12th grade, after school activities, and youth-led substance abuse prevention programs, as well as fun community events like the annual Christmas Town celebration. The district strives for quality education and career readiness while embracing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We are proud of our youth! Norwood City School district is also the proud home of Leila Kubesch, the 2020 Ohio Teacher of the Year, national semi-finalist, and a strong example of how our teachers go above and beyond.
Norwood is a city of porches and parks. Like many towns, Norwood became more car-centric in the 20th century, but, realizing the connectivity walking creates, Norwood has supported a variety of pedestrian-friendly initiatives in the last decade. Residents have led tree plantings and started programs like Story Time in The Garden. They raised money for a walking trail through the city, recycling cans and dog waste stations, and supported a regional bike trail that borders Norwood.
Norwood implemented form-based code along our main corridor, Montgomery Road, which encourages new construction to be close to the street for a more walkable environment and took away parking requirements to encourage small businesses. In collaboration with the local CDC, a Montgomery Road revitalization plan was commissioned that includes traffic-calming measures like road diets and enhanced crosswalks to make pedestrian travel safer and more pleasurable. City and schools also collaborated to create a Safe Routes to School Plan and received $400,000 in grants to implement it.
Victory Park, a shaded oasis on Montgomery Road, the main corridor, is walkable from every part of Norwood. It’s large and elevated, with a veteran’s memorial front and center. A defunct pool was replaced by a grassy space that fills with friends for Fridays on the Lawn—movies, music and more!—during the summer and Off Pike Market brings local vendors to the bordering street. The newly opened Recreation Center, a former YMCA building saved by the city, is around the corner. This summer, Northwood Cider Co., the region’s first cidery, will open next door, filling a vacant historic building. Residents got their first peek at this space during the annual Historic Home Tour. The revitalization happening in and around Victory Park is emblematic of the spirit of Norwood.
Norwood is an established city within a city, a three-square-mile enclave of Cincinnati, so there’s not really space for new development. That’s an asset, not a problem. It allows Norwood to reimagine spaces and retain unique buildings. Along Montgomery Road, our main business corridor, Ventura Builders Group, which has renovated historic homes all over the city, transformed an abandoned, multi-story bank building into a regional event center and co-working space. Across town, another developer saved the clock tower at the former U.S. Playing Card factory and the development, Factory 52, will mirror Norwood’s traditional high-density, mixed-use nature. All over Norwood, zoning encourages corner buildings to be mixed-use, allowing for commercial space even in residential neighborhoods, to encourage walkability and local businesses. These businesses, like the pay-what-you-can Speckled Bird café or the summer favorite Creamy Whip, are not merely places to get a treat, they are also neighborhood gathering spaces that increase our community pride and sense of belonging.