Tampa Named 'Most Livable' City In America
The designation made during the conference of mayors’ 86th annual meeting in Boston stems from Tampa’s first place finish in its 39th annual City Livability Awards Program. The city of Broken Arrow, OK, earned the top spot in the small cities category.
TAMPA, FL The U.S. Conference of Mayors has named the City of Tampa the “Most Livable” city in the United States.
The designation made during the conference of mayors’ 86th annual meeting in Boston stems from Tampa’s first place finish in its 39th annual City Livability Awards Program. The city of Broken Arrow, OK, earned the top spot in the small cities category. This year’s honorees were selected by a group of former mayors who reviewed more than 150 applications. The conference, held in the City of Boston, which began on Friday, June 8th, ended on Monday.
The Livability Award recognizes mayoral leadership in developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities, focusing on the leadership, creativity, and innovation demonstrated by the mayors.
In that vein, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s “Stay and Play Program” was created to reach at-risk teens and help curb the rising tide of violence that plagued east and central Tampa. The Stay and Play Program provides a safe and productive environment for teenagers at parks and recreation facilities during the summer. Since 2015, 70,369 teens have enjoyed free admission to 13 community centers and pools, from 6 p.m. to midnight during their summer vacation. The benefits have been enormous, with a reduction in drugs and gang violence in East Tampa resulting in an 8.9% drop in the crime rate, the Conference of Mayors notes.
“There is no greater investment than in our youth and with the success of Stay & Play we’ve been, not only able to keep kids off the streets, but able to provide programming that offers educational and recreational learning experiences that they wouldn’t necessarily otherwise receive,” says Mayor Buckhorn. “We look forward to continuing and expanding this program and hope to inspire similar programs in cities across the country.”
The City of Broken Arrow’s award stems from its historic redevelopment plan for a new arts and entertainment area in the historic part of the Broken Arrow, which over decades had become a neglected and economically challenged area. Many new businesses, which invested more than $25 million, relocated into this once declining district. These changes have elevated the quality of life for residents and brought more than 1,000 new jobs and over 70 new businesses into the area, the conference states.
Over the last six years, new development has resulted in an increase of almost $4 million in local property taxes. Annual municipal sales taxes collected in the area during that same time-period have also gone up from about $18,885.00, to more than $400,000 – a 2,025% increase.
“Receiving the City Livability Award is a tremendous honor for Broken Arrow. Not so long ago, Main Street was almost derelict, with very few businesses and zero foot traffic. Today, residents and visitors will find a vibrant downtown with unique restaurants, local artisan products, entertainment and cultural experiences that have transformed our Rose District into one of the most popular destinations in the region,” says Broken Arrow Mayor Craig Thurmond.
In addition to the two top awards, Outstanding Achievement Awards were bestowed to five cities with populations of 100,000 or more: Austin, TX; Bridgeport, CT; Fort Worth TX; Plano (TX) and Tallahassee, FL. The five cities with populations of less than 100,000 that were honored were: Auburn, WA; Huntington WV; Lima, OH, Niagara Falls, NY and Sumter (SC).
Honorable Mention citations for cities with populations of 100,000 or more went to: Aurora, CO; Clarksville, TN; Grand Rapids, MI and Warren, MI. Citations for cities with populations of less than 100,000 were given to: Clementon, NJ; Dublin, CA Gulfport MS and Marion IA.
Also at its annual meeting, the Conference of Mayors released a report that clearly detailed the tremendous economic contributions cities have on the U.S. economy.
The report, conducted by IHS Markit, shows that U.S. cities and their metro regions continue to dominate the nation’s economic growth, accounting for 99.5%, or $337 billion, of GDP expansion in 2017. The cities contribution was the fourth straight record year.
Metro areas added 1.9 million jobs, or 95.9% of all new jobs created in the economy last year, and were home to 91.2% of the nation’s GDP. Additionally, U.S. metro economies accounted for 91.6% of personal wage income in 2017 according to the report.
“This report makes clear, in no uncertain terms, that cities continue to drive the national economy and are the engines of its growth. We are the ecosystem for future jobs and innovation, and all signs point to this trend continuing,” says U.S. Conference of Mayors president and Columbia, SC mayor Steve Benjamin. “This is why we need, and continue to seek, a strong partnership with the Administration and Congress on such issues as infrastructure, inclusion and innovation. By addressing the nation’s challenges together, we will be able to build a brighter—more inclusive—future for all Americans.”
The report forecasts that for the remainder of this year, the economy will add approximately 200,000 monthly jobs, but will drop to an average about 100,000 monthly gains in 2019, and 70,000 in 2020.