The city of Decatur recently received the inaugural Visionary City Award, presented by Georgia Trend magazine and GMA, during the Cities United Summit in Atlanta, according to city officials. The city’s Better Together initiative was recognized. The program brought together more than 800 residents who contributed more than 1,300 hours to the yearlong visioning and outreach project aimed at creating a more diverse and welcoming city.

The awards recognized nine cities from across Georgia representing three population categories: small (under 4,999), medium (5,000-24,999) and large (25,000 and over).

These cities have created positive community change through effective civic engagement and collaboration and have fostered healthy working relationships that make their communities places where people truly love to live and work, according to the guidelines.

Other winning cities include Hogansville, Donalsonville, Winterville, Adel, Thomasville, Marietta, Chamblee, and Sugar Hill.

Judges for the 2020 Visionary City Award were from Georgia Power, the Department of Community Affairs and the Atlanta Regional Commission.

In addition to being recognized during GMA’s Cities United Summit, winning cities were highlighted in the February issue of

Georgia Trend.