City wins inaugural visionary award

The city of Chamblee won the inaugural Visionary City Award presented by Georgia Trend magazine and the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) during the association’s Cities United Summit in Atlanta on Jan. 26, according to a news release.

Chamblee is one of nine cities from across Georgia to receive the accomplishment. It won in the large population category.

“These cities exemplify what it means to be forward-thinking for their residents and generations to come,” said GMA Executive Director Larry Hanson. “It’s our privilege to honor the elected officials, city staff and community leaders of these nine cities who’ve led these initiatives and projects. They also serve as inspiring examples of civility, collaboration and creating communities of positive change across Georgia.”

Chamblee was recognized for its Mid-City and Town Center Strolls, an engaging approach to gathering community feedback and spreading awareness about city projects.

“Chamblee seeks to be on the cutting edge of community engagement and awareness. Through the strolls, we took the feedback from our stakeholders and made important decisions,” said Mayor Eric Clarkson.

The strolls highlighted proposed improvements with tactical urbanism and demonstration projects that allowed people to experience the corridors as it exists today as well as how they would look and feel after the projects were completed.

Judges for the 2020 Visionary City Award represented influential entities including Georgia Power, the Department of Community Affairs and the Atlanta Regional Commission. In addition to being recognized during GMA’s Cities United Summit, winning cities will be highlighted in the February issue of Georgia Trend.

Information: chambleega.gov