Lawrence is going head to head with 15 other North American cities in the 9th Annual Strongest Town contest, and voting began Monday, March 4. In this bracket-style voting tournament, Lawrence is competing for the “Strongest Town” title by shining a national spotlight on its progress toward safety, financial resiliency, housing and transportation.

You can cast your vote for Lawrence at strongesttown.com.

Why vote for Lawrence? Because Lawrence is a true village, with folks who care about the conversations that keep a community thriving. We have the spirit of the phoenix — literally rising from the ashes after Quantrill’s raid. We’re a town fiercely clinging to the values of community — a place where we have repatriated sacred artifacts to local tribes, fiercely defend and protect the marginalized, structure our strategic plan around services to all, and continue the difficult work of addressing key and critical social issues.

Every day, our team of more than 900 City employees is making progress in the four tenets Strongest Town is prioritizing in this year’s competition: Safety, Financial Resiliency, Housing and Transportation. Some of the efforts we’re most proud of include:

• Accessible transportation: We’re committed to ensuring our roads work for our community — and are safe, accessible, and respectful of pedestrians, cyclists, and non-drivers. We’re also doubling down on ensuring public transportation is an accessible, viable option to all. We’ve just recently opened a new Lawrence Transit Central Station and are offering fare free public transit for the second year in a row.

• Public Engagement Opportunities: We protect and provide public participation opportunities to explore with our community what we can enhance — and what we should avoid — together. We’re in year two of leveraging The Balancing Act, and participating in that level of public engagement has been critical to ensuring more community awareness of City service levels and infrastructure costs.

• Increased Affordable Housing: Increasing housing options is one of our top priorities. We’re focused on mixed-use development, more comfort with multi-family housing, accessibility modifications that keep families housed, and other affordable housing options that address the more than 1,200 unit shortfall projected by current estimates.

Cities will advance in the Strongest Town competition over five rounds, based on weekly voting periods. In the first round, Lawrence will compete with three other cities in a special category, “Healing Local Housing.” Then, all cities will advance to Round 2, where they will compete head to head and only advance to further weeks if they get the most votes.

The City of Lawrence will keep the community updated on social media as we (hopefully) progress from round to round.

Media Contact: Cori Wallace, Director of Communications & Community Relations
City of Lawrence
785-764-8779
cwallace@lawrenceks.org

About the City of Lawrence 
The City of Lawrence supports an unmistakably vibrant community with innovative, equitable, transparent and responsible local government. Together, we are creating a community where everyone can enjoy life and feel at home.

About Strong Towns
Strong Towns is a 501c(3) nonprofit and media advocacy organization that shifts conversations around the North American development pattern. Through articles, podcasts, videos, live events, and city partnerships, they provide knowledge and tools to help cities transform their streets and communities. This is their 9th annual Strongest Town Contest.