Strong Towns announces winner of sixth annual Strongest Town Contest
After a month of facing off with some of the most impressive contestants the Strongest Town Contest has seen in its six-year run, the community of Lockport, Illinois has come out on top to claim the Strongest Town title. Read the full write-up here.
Strong Towns founder and president Charles Marohn will pay Lockport a visit in the coming months to celebrate the canal town's victory with a Strong Towns event.
The Strongest Town is a community that is doing the work to become fiscally resilient and build prosperity for its residents by:
- Relying on small, incremental investments (little bets) instead of large, transformative projects.
- Emphasizing resiliency of result over efficiency of execution.
- Designing to adapt to feedback.
- Focusing on bottom/up action and not top/down systems.
Lockport, Illinois
More than 33,000 votes from all over the world were cast in the four rounds of this year's contest. Lockport advanced to the finals after facing off with Bellingham, Washington; Middleton, Wisconsin; and Bismarck, North Dakota.
The final round featured Lockport against Oxford, Mississippi. Representatives from each community appeared on the Championship Week Webcast to make the case for why their city should win the Strongest Town title. The results of the final round of voting were 54% Lockport, 46% Oxford.
The team that nominated Lockport to compete in this year's competition included Ben Benson, Bren Cann, Brittni Calderon, Lisa Heglund, Mayor Steve Streit, and Lance Thies. The team answered questions on a variety of topics, from housing and transportation, to economic development and how the town has addressed the challenges of the pandemic. They also submitted a photo essay of some of the things that make their town great, sat down for a podcast interview with Strong Towns program director Rachel Quednau, and participated in a webcast with Strong Towns president Charles Marohn.
Strong Towns helps local leaders identify the cause of decline in our cities and take action to build a stronger, financially resilient future. The Strong Towns movement is reshaping the North American development pattern with a return to bottom-up, incremental growth.
For comment from Strong Towns, to connect with someone who nominated a community, or for more information about the contest, contact Lauren Fisher.
Find logos and promotional images here.
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Past Winners:
2020 - Watertown, South Dakota
2019 - Pensacola, Florida
2018 - Muskegon, Michigan
2017 - Traverse City, Michigan
2016 - Carlisle, Pennsylvania
