Smart Growth America’s Champions Institute successfully finished its 2025 cohort in June. Together, we worked with local elected officials from 10 states to build knowledge and skills around Complete Streets, downtown revitalization, and other local initiatives that create places where families can be active together and live healthier lives. Demonstrating leadership and a commitment to creating change, these champions will now work to deploy local action plans developed as part of the program. 

Smart Growth America (SGA) selected 14 local officials from across 10 states to participate in the 2025 Champions Institute. They included mayors, city council members, and county board members. Major cities like Nashville, TN as well as smaller communities such as Lake City, SC were represented, signifying the fact that Complete Streets can be adopted in places of any size or background. This program, supported by CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, aims to build capacity among local elected officials who are looking to adopt and implement a Complete Streets approach.

Participants took part in a series of virtual sessions to build capacity and increase skills around areas necessary to adopt and implement Complete Streets. These included expert presentations on topics such as policy, design, and zoning and opportunities to get their hands dirty with activities on messaging and community engagement. Happening in parallel to the virtual sessions, each participant received the opportunity to work with a member of SGA staff on developing an action plan to create a strategy to improve community design back home.

Creating action for change

One of the cornerstones of the Champions Institute is the action plan created by each participant throughout the program. This action plan aims to be a roadmap for how local elected officials can begin implementing strategies they learned in the virtual sessions to address a known challenge in their own community. In the past, Champions Institute participants have adopted policies, implemented street design changes, hosted community workshops, and more.

Policy drafting and improvements

A number of the 2025 participants identified policy changes that were needed for their communities to lead to improved implementation of Complete Streets. This includes Complete Streets policy updates in Rochester, MN and incorporating Complete Streets elements into an already in-progress update to a comprehensive plan in Leon County, FL. Some places will be using what they learned in the program to draft a completely new policy such as in Clarksville, TN.

Changes to Support Biking and Walking

Several communities will see changes to their streets as a result of the Champions Institute. A project already underway in Clarksville, TN will incorporate more Complete Streets elements to focus on meeting the transportation needs of a growing population. Princeton, NJ could see an expansion of its advisory bike lanes combined with education efforts to improve their use by drivers and bikers alike.

Engagement and education

One of the major themes that came from this cohort was the need to communicate the benefits and possibilities of Complete Streets among their colleagues and throughout their communities. Whether it’s communicating about projects being installed in Lexington, KY or advancing the narrative around biking in Nashville, TN, the 2025 Champions recognized that getting more community members engaged and on board in Complete Streets will only make their efforts more successful. Several participants, including Shawnee, KS, recognized that to do so would mean establishing working coalitions around the topics discussed in the program.

Inspiring leadership

Throughout this year’s Champions Institute, participants continuously demonstrated leadership not only around creating safer places to walk, bike, and be physically active, but in their overall vision for their communities. They came together regularly despite busy schedules to share challenges, offer insights and encouragement to their peers, and were willing to consider different perspectives to improve the hard work they do every day. Local leaders such as those that participated in the Champions Institute are critical to creating and maintaining communities that support all members now and in the future, and we look forward to seeing how their creative and tenacious efforts translate into creating safer, healthier communities for all.

The 2025 Champions Institute was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-PW-24-0080). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. These efforts are part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.