Cities of Opportunity: Healthy People, Thriving Communities

JPG image of NLC logo

Grand Rapids is 1 of 12 cities selected to participate in the National League of Cities' Cities of Opportunity initiative! The pilot phase of this new effort will advance collaborative approaches to three critical challenges:

  • Economic opportunity
  • Healthy and affordable housing
  • City planning and design
We were selected following our participation in Invest Health, an effort that brings leaders together to develop strategies to improve neighborhoods facing the biggest barriers to better health.  
The National League of Cities (NLC) is piloting this initiative, Cities of Opportunity. The idea is to improve the health and well-being of city residents. To do this, NLC is harnessing the power of city leadership to address social determinants of health.

Through the pilot, NLC will help city leaders develop and implement action plans for their communities. National experts will provide insights to inform these plans. Participating cities will co-create a new national initiative that will:
  • Enable cities to better work across programs and agencies
  • Craft more comprehensive strategies to improve health outcomes

We'll be working with 11 other cities across the U.S. through this initiative:

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Birmingham, AL
  • Charlotte, NC
  • East Point, GA
  • Fort Collins, CO
  • Hopewell, VA
  • Huntington, WV
  • Lansing, MI
  • New Orleans, LA
  • Rancho Cucamonga, CA
  • Roanoke, VA

Contact Us

Email

bglover@grcity.us

 

Phone

311 or 616-456-3000

In the Media

Check out our announcement that we were selected as a City of Opportunity.

Press Release

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