Gateway Cities Census Data

Lakewood

Description: Streets lined with trees, parks filled with kids and parents, and a massive shopping center acknowledged as one of the most successful in Southern California make Lakewood a stand-out community, but as residents will tell you, there’s more to Lakewood than meets the eye. The town that grew up overnight in the early 1950s has matured into an impressive community of homes, schools, places of worship, and commerce that strives to change with the times while keeping its core values intact.

Lakewood was one of the first planned communities following World War II and is an internationally known innovator of municipal services though a system now called “the Lakewood Plan.” Lakewood contracts for most of its city services, keeping the cost of local government low. Lakewood’s success has earned praise from the Press Telegram, the National League of Cities, the National Park and Recreation Society, the Arbor Day Foundation, and even Sports Illustrated magazine (which named Lakewood as “California’s Sportstown” in 2004).

Much of the recent success of the city has come in the area of economic development, particularly through the expansion of Lakewood Center.New retailers also have come to the city’s smaller commercial centers, looking to tap into the city’s lively local economy. New residents, too, choose Lakewood for its neighborhood qualities.They find a welcoming community where young families are making new memories. Lakewood residents claim that there is something special about their town, that their city has taken the past 52 years of dramatic changes in stride.And, who is to say they’re wrong?

(city description courtesy of Press Telegram 2006 Almanac)