Following a bracket-style competition among 16 cities across North America, Traverse City has emerged as the continent's "strongest town," according to the final public vote conducted by StrongTowns.org. Traverse City defeated Guelph, Ontario by four percentage points in the final face-off. 

In addition to the accolades and bragging rights, the winner now gets to host a "Curbside Chat" hosted by Chuck Marohn, author and founder of StrongTowns.org. According the organization,"Curbside Chats" "explain why our towns are going broke and how they can grow toward a stronger, more prosperous future."

In their announcement, the web site noted:
"Throughout the contest, we learned about Traverse City's fun-loving, active population that takes pride in its local businesses and collaboratively addresses challenges. Traverse City stood out as a town where multi-modal transportation is key, where small businesses thrive, and where natural beauty is beloved and prioritized.

Traverse City is meeting challenges like providing affordable housing head-on, with new provisions for accessory dwelling units, decreasing building and parking regulations, and encouraging creative development styles. Here's what residents of this town had to say about why theirs is a strong town:
"We're blessed with a really great geographical setting."
"To say the residents of Traverse City are actively involved in decision making would be a gross understatement. Public participation appears to part of the DNA here."
"You can live a life of convenience here without needing an automobile."
"Our strong town is only getting stronger as more and more people are finding our piece of heaven in the not-so-obscure-anymore Northern Michigan."