BY FREDA MIKLIN
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
In a survey posted on Survey Monkey in December, the City of Centennial asked its residents, as well as people who work or visit there, to help it figure out its brand.
To do so, one of the tools the city used was to ask respondents to identify those aspects of the city it views most positively. Examples provided included: business friendly, regional partnerships, neighborhoods and parks, trails and open space. It also asks respondents to point to activities they don’t find as much as they wish in the city, such as arts and culture and entertainment. Next, the survey asked if certain words, including, unique, smart, healthy, clean and innovative describe “Centennial, the place and the culture.” Last, the survey asked residents and businesses to rate the quality of life and performance of city government overall.
The description of the survey said, “The City of Centennial is undergoing a branding process to help communicate who we are as a community, where we are today, and where we’re going in the future.”
Kelly Ohaver, Centennial’s communications manager told The Villager, “The City is undergoing this branding process to help communicate who we are as a community, where we are today, and where we’re going in the future. The Brand Survey is just one of the many ways we are collecting information, and the public perceptions we gather will help ensure we are moving in the right direction and that we have not missed anything. This is an ongoing process, and a draft brand strategy will likely be shared with City Council sometime in the first quarter of 2022.”
The map above shows the unusual shape of the 30-square mile city, now only 20 years old, that reaches from the edge of Littleton on the west to E-470 near Foxfield on the east. It has a population of 110,000 people in six different zip codes who live in neighborhoods that are miles apart. Most of its businesses are congregated on the Arapahoe Road corridor.
The Villager will continue to follow this story as Centennial, a young city that has already won awards for its organization and safety, finds its identity.
fmiklin.villager@gmail.com