Lakewood Named Finalist For Cities Of Service Award

LAKEWOOD, CO – Lakewood is one of 10 cities selected as a finalist for an international award that recognizes governments that are working with residents to solve a diverse range of problems.

The Cities of Service Engaged Cities Award is based on the city's work with residents to tackle public problems, the city's clear evidence of impact and the government's potential to apply its strategy to other problems and geographies.

Residents' expertise can help the city deliver better services, solve public problems and improve government performance, the City of Lakewood said.

Through Lakewood’s Sustainable Neighborhoods Program, the city supports resident-driven sustainability initiatives by providing tools and support, helping neighborhood groups identify areas of need, determining existing resources and implementing projects that help the environment.

“The Sustainable Neighborhoods Program is really having a meaningful impact for our residents and our city,” Mayor Adam Paul said in a statement. “It’s helping address a whole range of community goals that include fostering local food production, increasing the use of clean energy, reducing air pollution and even bringing healthier meals to school students. What I love most is that it’s building a deep sense of community because neighbors are meeting and getting to know each other.”

Cities of Service received more than one hundred applications for the award from cities in the Americas and Europe.

“In our second year of the Engaged Cities Award, we are more heartened than ever to see that city leaders continue to break down barriers to citizen participation and involvement,” Myung J. Lee, cities of service executive director, said in a statement. “The ten finalist cities show the power of working alongside their residents to improve lives and provide a model for others to follow.”

Cities of Service chose the 10 finalists based on how much residents were engaged with impact volunteering, participatory design, crowdsourcing and citizen-sourced data.

Finalists tackled challenges such as environment and sustainability, health and safety, neighborhood revitalization and other issues.

The Engaged Cities Award was open to cities with populations of more than 30,000 people. Cities submitted their applications earlier this year.

Cities of Service will choose up to three winning cities and award a total of $200,000. Winners will be announced at CityLab in October 2019.