Multimodal transportation in Durango, Colorado

Durango, White Salmon go head-to-head in Western Showdown

10 March 2022

Two towns represent best practices for the West in Strongest Town Contest

Americans want better cities, and the two western cities of Durango, Colorado and White Salmon, Washington are leading the charge. The national nonprofit Strong Towns amplifies the efforts of 16 cities each year during the Strongest Town Contest, and this year's competition has led both communities to the Elite Eight round in this March Madness-inspired tournament.

Voters from across the United States and Canada chose Durango and White Salmon to advance to the second round from their respective match-ups in the Sweet Sixteen lineup. Durango muscled out California's Santa Clara, while White Salmon won out over the fellow Washington city of University Place.

Highlights:

• The Strongest Town Contest is a celebration of communities that are putting their focus on townmaking practices that build resilience and prosperity.

• The Elite Eight round features a photo tour of each community. Voting opens on Monday, March 14.

• 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

What these cities are doing right

The predominant way our cities are built takes precious resources and squanders them on rapid growth that eventually turns into massive debt and fiscal insolvency. In order to ensure a prosperous people, the communities highlighted by the Strongest Town Contest are working to apply a time-tested approach 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

"The contest is about the journey, not the destination," nationally recognized engineer and Strong Towns founder Charles Marohn said. "It's not a snapshot of where a place is as much as an examination of how they are trying to get to someplace better."

Durango has a rapidly growing population for which they struggle to maintain affordable housing. They've created several new programs to support new housing development in order to meet rising demand, and they're also making investments in their local transportation system.

White Salmon shares a struggle with ensuring adequate housing supply. Their Housing Action Plan outlines a path toward creating 1,100 new homes in the next 20 years, much of which should be created as infill.

At the onset of pandemic-related school closures, residents of White Salmon raised thousands of dollars for a "Book Van" program to provide children with access to reading materials at home.

Both communities pride themselves on being places where residents can participate in building a strong future by joining boards, attending meetings, and having their say in what plans to pursue and prioritize.

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.

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.

Media Contacts:
Strong Towns - Lauren Fisher, Communications
lauren@strongtowns.org / (844) 218-1681

White Salmon - Brendan Conboy, Land Use Planner
brendan@ci.white-salmon.wa.us / 509-493-1133 Ext. 204

Durango - Bryce Bierman, City Planner
bryce.bierman@durangogov.org / 970-764-7132

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