Two DeKalb County cities won statewide awards for their civic engagement over the past year.
Brookhaven and Dunwoody were among eight cities to received the Visionary City Award by the Georgia Municipal Association and Georgia Trend magazine. The award, which is in its second year, aims to highlight cities that created positive change in their communities, according to a news release.
Brookhaven received the award for its civic engagement along the Buford Highway corridor, where many residents speak Spanish. The city expanded its bilingual recourses, partnered with local Latin American community groups and continued its police department’s Spanish-language citizen police academy.
Dunwoody was highlighted for its programs that assisted restaurants amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The city launched a program that helped restaurants expand their outdoor dining capacity and also created the picnic table project to promote eating outdoors and social distancing.
Both cities won the award in the large city category, which means a city has more than 25,000 residents. The organizations also issue the Visionary City Award to small-sized cities (fewer than 4,999 residents) and medium-sized cities (5,000 to 24,999 residents). Cities had to submit their own nomination before October.
Auburn, Douglas, Griffin, Hahira, Statesboro, Tybee Island and Woodbury were the other recognized cities. A few metro Atlanta cities, including Chamblee, Decatur, Marietta and Sugar Hill, received the inaugural award last year.
About the Author
