President Barack Obama cited Chattanooga's ultra-fast Internet service, dubbed "the Gig," telling how communities such as the Scenic City are benefiting.
Obama administration officials touted the advantages offered by the city-owned EPB, which helped bring the first city-wide gigabit-per-second Internet service to any city in the Western Hemisphere in 2011.
The Obama White House wants to lift state restrictions on municipal broadband and other programs that administration officials say could bring more speed and competition for Internet service to other cities.
The White House released a report saying Chattanooga's "visionary" broadband is helping the Gig City attract entrepreneurs and computer programmers from around the country.
President Obama in one instance termed Chattanooga "a tornado of innovation."
Chattanooga has also picked up other prestigious accolades in the past year:
* Chattanooga was named on a National Geographic list of the world's smartest cities. In its October 2014 issue, the monthly magazine listed Chattanooga among its 2014 Traveler 50 and includes the Scenic City as one of the essential places "that have turned the world's most intelligent cities into travelers' hottest tickets."
Ian MacFarlane, a consultant for National Geographic Channel's Smart Cities program, said each of the cities selected among the smartest in the world have a sense of place.
"A city needs a heart and soul - typically the center, where people congregate for work and leisure," MacFarlane told the magazine. "Smart cities are well-connected locally and internationally, have a sustainable lifestyle, and are places where people come first."
National Geographic praised Chattanooga for is gigabit-per-second Internet service from EPB and its walkable downtown along the riverwalk and other riverfront development.
"Techies call Chattanooga "Gig City" for its lightning-fast Internet," writer George W. Stone said. "But what do locals do when not digitizing? They bike and hike along the revitalized riverwalk path, part of a $250 million reinvention along the banks of the Tennessee."
San Francisco topped the list and Paducah and Lexington, Ky., also were on the top 50 list.
New cars await at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant.* Volkswagen's Chattanooga auto assembly plant was cited for its sustainability efforts as the German automaker won the World Environmental Center's 30th Anniversary Gold Medal award.
The plant, the only automotive factory in the world to have earned platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, conserves 720,000 kilowatts of energy annually through insulation made of recycled materials and rock wool, according to the company.
* Chattanooga and North Georgia oversaw its first Ironman competition last year, and it won the opportunity to host another similar contest. In the Ironman 70.3 triathlon, competitors will take a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run on nearly the same course as Ironman Chattanooga held last year.
According to Ironman, Chattanooga is one of only 10 cities globally that host both an Ironman and an Ironman 70.3 triathlon.
"We're expecting more than 6,000 people and an estimated economic impact of $3 million-$4 million annually," said Bob Doak, chief executive of the Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
* Chattanooga is straddling the best states in America in competing for business, according to Site Selection magazine.
The business publication ranked Georgia No. 1 and Tennessee No. 2 in the magazine's annual list of the most competitive states for economic development success.
Georgia displaced Texas, which had been No. 1. Texas fell to No. 3 in the newest ranking, behind both Georgia and Tennessee.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.