Santa Clara, CA, and Durango, CO, vie for Elite Eight slot in National Contest
March is just around the corner, and basketball isn't the only game in town. Voting opens Monday, Feb. 28, for the seventh annual Strongest Town Contest, with the first phase featuring Santa Clara, California, against Durango, Colorado.
This matchup features the largest population gap between cities, making for an exciting contest in the early stages of the competition.
“My mom used to say ‘it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog’ and she was right,” said Strong Towns Content Manager Jay Stange.
A town of 500 can be stronger than the largest North American metropolis if it’s showing us the way to become resilient, walkable and economically diverse.
Jay Stange, Strong Towns Content Manager and Contest Organizer
Highlights:
• The Strongest Town Contest is a celebration of communities that are putting their focus on townmaking practices that build resilience and prosperity.
• Contest begins with Sweet Sixteen voting on Monday, Feb. 28, and concludes with the announcement of the 2022 champion on Friday, April 8.
• The 2022 Strongest Town will be visited by nationally recognized author, engineer, and advocate for strong communities Chuck Marohn. This city will also be featured prominently on the Strong Towns website with a series of articles outlining their efforts to provide citizens with a good life in a prosperous place.
• Voting is open to anyone.
• Full Contest Details / Press+Partner Kit
• Contest begins with Sweet Sixteen voting on Monday, Feb. 28, and concludes with the announcement of the 2022 champion on Friday, April 8.
• The 2022 Strongest Town will be visited by nationally recognized author, engineer, and advocate for strong communities Chuck Marohn. This city will also be featured prominently on the Strong Towns website with a series of articles outlining their efforts to provide citizens with a good life in a prosperous place.
• Voting is open to anyone.
• Full Contest Details / Press+Partner Kit
A 1940 parade in Santa Clara, California
A contest for progress
Cities across North America are using more and more resources while providing less for residents—less safety in transportation, less of a robust local economy, less commitment to sound public finance.
The Strongest Town Contest launched in 2016 to spotlight communities that are leading the way to a better future. No place is perfect, and most of them are fighting against inertia from risky finance and wasteful development practices adopted after WWII. But the 16 communities selected to compete in the contest are pushing forward with a tried-and-true approach toward restoration, one that:
- Relies on incremental investments (little bets) instead of large, transformative projects
- Favors resiliency of result over efficiency of execution
- Is designed to adapt to feedback, to evolve over time to meet the changing needs of the community
- Is inspired by bottom-up action and not top-down systems
- Seeks to conduct as much of life as possible at a human scale
- Is obsessive about accounting for its revenues, expenses, assets and long-term liabilities
Each round, a different aspect of participating communities will be featured on the contest website, and the public will vote on which towns are best applying the Strong Towns approach to create a thriving place.
Media Contacts:
Strong Towns - Lauren Fisher, Communications
lauren@strongtowns.org / 844-218-1681
Durango - Bryce Bierman, City Planner
bryce.bierman@durangogov.org / 970-764-7132
Strong Towns - Lauren Fisher, Communications
lauren@strongtowns.org / 844-218-1681
Durango - Bryce Bierman, City Planner
bryce.bierman@durangogov.org / 970-764-7132
Find logos and promotional images here.
Use #StrongestTown, #DurangoStrong2022, #SantaClaraStrong2022 on Social
Twitter: @strongtowns
Facebook: @strongtowns
Instagram: @strongtownspics
Past Winners:
2021 - Lockport, Illinois
2020 - Watertown, South Dakota
2019 - Pensacola, Florida
2018 - Muskegon, Michigan
2017 - Traverse City, Michigan
2016 - Carlisle, Pennsylvania
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.
