Harrisonburg is going head to head with 15 other North American cities in the 10th Annual Strongest Town Contest, and voting began Monday.
In the bracket-style voting tournament, Harrisonburg will compete for the “Strongest Town” title by shining a national spotlight on the work it is doing to become a stronger, more resilient city.
The Strongest Town Contest celebrates progress, not perfection. A “strong town” is any town, big or small, that is taking tangible steps to overcome its transportation, housing or financial challenges. Strong Towns refers to the methodology as the “Strong Towns Approach,” and the contest spotlights the work of city residents and leaders who are using the approach to become more resilient over time.
“Harrisonburg is a city of very modest means, but our community spirit is anything but modest. We’re an innovative city that offers top-notch services and amenities, enriching the quality of life for our diverse, culturally vibrant residents. And, while we’re proud of what we’ve achieved, our commitment to progress moves us to continually find new ways to elevate our community for everyone,” Vice Mayor Dany Fleming said.
Last week, the City of Harrisonburg announced a new process to sell surplus city-owned land to spur residential development for housing. From the city’s shared-use trails to the private redevelopment of the “Bird District” downtown to the Community Connectors project in the Northeast Neighborhood, the Friendly City has made significant progress on housing, active transportation and redevelopment.
Competitors advance over five, weekly rounds. Anyone can vote once per week, and votes are tallied Monday through Thursday. Winners are notified each Friday. In the first, risk-free round, Harrisonburg will compete with three other cities for an honorary title to recognize its efforts toward housing. Then, all cities will advance to round 2, when bracket-style eliminations will begin and winners will advance based on the number of votes collected that week:
Round 1: Meet Your Contestants (March 3–6).
Round 2: Sweet Sixteen (March 10–13)
Round 3: Elite Eight (March 17–20).
Round 4: Final Four (March 24–27).
Round 5: Championship (March 31–April 3).
Votes may be cast online.
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Rebecca Barnabi
