Thank you to everyone who supported Maumee in its efforts to advance through and eventually win the Strong Towns Contest!
On April 17, the City of Maumee was named the Strongest Town Champion in the 9th Annual Strongest Town Contest, an international, March Madness-style tournament that celebrates North American cities. Sixteen cities from coast to coast competed for the Strongest Town title by shining a national spotlight on their progress toward safety, financial resiliency, housing, and transportation. We congratulate all of the cities involved in the Strong Towns movement for their commitment to this very important initiative.
21st Century Progress
Where most North American infrastructure is overbuilt and creates a dangerous environment that cities can’t afford to maintain, Maumee is progressively changing this status quo. Leveraging Ohio’s Home Rule law, Maumee has transformed its state-owned highway by reducing lanes from four to three, adding on-street parallel parking to add extra pedestrian protection, and more.
The Strongest Town Contest isn’t a popularity contest.
It’s a quest to find towns that are striving to build financial resilience from the bottom up and to put them in the spotlight so that other communities can be inspired by them.
Financial Resiliency
Local government must, at the end of the day, have enough revenue to match its expenses. It can operate at a loss for short periods, by taking on debt or spending cash reserves, but it cannot do so indefinitely, any more than any nonprofit organization or your household can.
We, collectively, need to think about the second life cycle and beyond the investments we make: Most North American infrastructure is overbuilt, creating a dangerous environment that municipalities cannot fiscally afford to maintain. That is why Maumee took the bold steps of creating neighborhoods that are safe, productive, and community-oriented.
Strong Towns: Maumee, OH, Is Taking Back Its Streets – By Removing Them By Searra Jones
