The National Civic League announced the ten All-America Cities tonight during a celebration at the Grand Hyatt Denver. The award is given to communities for outstanding civic accomplishments. This year had a focus on healthy communities–efforts to address challenges such as obesity, chronic illness, physical inactivity and the need for safe routes to school and walkable communities.
Listed alphabetically by state, the 2014 All-America Cities are:
| Montgomery, Alabama | Chelsea, Massachusetts |
| San Pablo, California | Independence, Oregon |
| Brush!, Colorado | Brownsville, Texas |
| Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Hampton, Virginia |
| Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Eau Claire, Wisconsin |
Click here for summaries of their award winning projects.
For two days, groups of civic leaders and community activists met in Denver to present their stories of positive change to a jury of civic experts and to network and exchange ideas and insights.
“Congratulations on a job well done,” said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock in a message to the All-America Cities. “Not only have you proven your ability to innovate, work together and take on the complex challenges facing America’s communities, you’ve given inspiration and ideas to other communities across the country.”
The 2014 All-America Cities applied grassroots efforts to address such issues as childhood obesity, economic development, neighborhood revitalization, greenway development. They engaged the public directly in budget-making, city planning and communitywide fitness programs. They promoted local arts and cultural opportunities, reduced high school drop-out rates and turned polluted brownfields into parks.
“These communities are amazing,” said National Civic League President Gloria Rubio-Cortés. “They deserve to be recognized for the great work they are doing to make their communities stronger, healthier and more inclusive. They have found innovative ways of aligning existing programs to achieve greater impact.”
Sponsors of the 2014 All-America City Awards are Southwest Airlines, The Official Airline of the All-America City Awards; Campaign for Grade-Level Reading; Colorado Health Foundation; The Colorado Trust; Kaiser Permanente Denver/Boulder Offices; Alameda Gateway Community Association; Delta Dental of Colorado; FirstBank; Greenberg Traurig; Mile High United Way; PCL Construction; St. Anthony Hospital; City of Aurora, Colorado; City and County of Denver, Colorado; City of Lakewood, Colorado; City of Dublin, California; City of Gladstone, Missouri; City of Rancho Cordova, California; City of Hickory, North Carolina; and RubinBrown.
