National Competition Highlights Towns that Prioritize Progress
The 2025 Strong Towns Contest is a national competition that pits just 16 towns and cities against one another to determine a winner, based on both a certain list of criteria and open voting.
The Strong Towns criteria, or the “Strong Town Approach” includes towns that do the following: Rely on small, incremental investments (little bets) instead of large, transformative projects; Emphasizes resiliency of result over efficiency of execution; Is designed to adapt to feedback; Is inspired by bottom-up action (chaotic but smart) and not top-down systems (orderly but dumb); Seeks to conduct as much of life as possible at a personal scale; Is obsessive about accounting for its revenues, expenses, assets, and long term liabilities (doing the math).
This year, Bend has made it to the Final Four. We had to get past Sacramento, California to get to this current round, and we are currently squaring off against Marion, Ohio to reach the championship match-up that will be against the winner of Harrisonburg, Virginia vs. Greenfield, Massachusetts.
According to an employee of the contest, “The Strongest Town Contest highlights and celebrates cities that are working to overcome their housing, transportation, and financial struggles with an incremental approach and long-term financial health in mind. ‘Incremental’, in this sense, refers to many, smaller projects that progress towards an end goal.”
Continuing, they said, “The 16 cities who earn this nomination are chosen based on their demonstrated efforts and progress in these areas, often including reforms, new policies, programs, or other projects. This is why the Strongest Town Contest is not a ‘We’re a perfect place’ contest. Rather, it’s a ‘We’re working toward a stronger future’ contest. It’s about how communities are responding to the challenges they face.”
So how did Bend get nominated? That is thanks to Jesse Russell, managing partner of Hiatus Capital Fund and CEO and founder of Hiatus Homes. “I’ve followed Strong Towns for some time now, and I’ve always appreciated how they focus on practical, community-driven approaches to building stronger cities — solutions that are incremental, affordable and deeply rooted in place,” Russell said. “When this year’s contest came around, it felt like the right time to nominate Bend. We’re doing work here that deserves a national spotlight — reimagining housing, rethinking infrastructure and building in a way that actually strengthens our city over time.”
Continuing, Russell expressed why Bend was such a great town to nominate, “Strong Towns looks for places that are prioritizing long-term resilience — not just in housing or infrastructure, but in how cities grow, spend, and adapt to changing needs. They want to see communities that are reducing car dependency, supporting small-scale development, removing barriers to housing and investing in walkable, connected neighborhoods. Bend has made real progress on all of those fronts — through policies like eliminating parking minimums, embracing middle housing and focusing on infill instead of sprawl. It’s a city that’s willing to evolve and experiment, and that’s exactly what this contest celebrates.”
Russell says that this contest shows that Bend isn’t just growing — it’s growing smarter. “Projects like the Core Area Plan, the future Hawthorne pedestrian and bike bridge and our city’s work to legalize middle housing types are all examples of how Bend is shifting toward a more people-centered, financially resilient development model,” she said. “At Hiatus Homes, we’ve been incredibly fortunate to work in a city like Bend that’s open to new ideas, from micro apartments to small unit developments, ADUs and cottage clusters. That kind of flexibility isn’t possible in most cities, and it’s a big part of what makes Bend such a powerful example of what’s possible when a community embraces thoughtful, incremental growth.”
This positivity is echoed by Central Oregon LandWatch, who are quite excited to see Bend nominated for this award.
Corie Harlan, Cities and Towns program director for LandWatch said, “Having Bend recognized by Strong Towns is a great example of how Central Oregon LandWatch approaches its work. We’re not just thinking about how we can maintain and enhance our quality of life here. We are also thinking about how Central Oregon can be a model for intentional growth, environmental resilience and climate adaptation, and community well-being for cities and towns across the country that are facing similar challenges.”
LandWatch has been a vocal and active advocate for a certain strategy that is now being highlighted by this contest, “As one of the fastest-growing cities in Oregon, Bend faces many time-sensitive challenges. Among them: how can we ensure that we have affordable housing options for our current residents? And, how can we make sure that the housing for future residents doesn’t sprawl out into the forests and farms that surround Bend? One strategy that Bend uses is promoting infill development and mixed-use neighborhoods. Ensuring adequate funding for housing infrastructure within our current urban growth boundary is key.”
So what can this nomination tell us about what Bend will look like in the future? According to Harlan and LandWatch, “The city is on the cusp of a comprehensive planning process, which will guide our community’s growth for the next 20 years. We will be focused on taking many of these smart-growth, ‘Strong Town’ actions to the next level: prioritizing infill over sprawl, finding creative ways to promote more walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods citywide, and supporting safe, multimodal transportation infrastructure. The city is also planning an intensive public engagement process that more effectively reaches more broadly and deeply into the community.”
Reflecting on the community’s effort and some pride in her home, Russell said, “I feel incredibly proud — not just as a builder, but as a resident. It’s easy to get discouraged by how hard it can be to make meaningful change at the local level, especially around housing, but what’s happening in Bend gives me hope. We’re showing that it’s possible to do things differently — to build places that work better for people, not just cars or spreadsheets. And being part of a community that’s willing to have those conversations and do that work is something I’m deeply grateful for.”
For more information on the Strongest Towns Contest or to cast your vote for Bend, please visit strongesttown.com. The next round of voting opened on March 31.
