No one mumbles under their breath that they are from Lawrence.

People who decide to live in Lawrence more often than not take a special pride in their town, and why shouldn’t they?

Lawrence has survived fires, floods and wars.

It was borne out of America’s epic struggle — the end of slavery.

When the Kansas Territory was opened to settlement, New England abolitionists rushed to the area to make Kansas a free state. John Brown, the Underground Railroad, Quantrill’s Raid — Lawrence was at the epicenter of a bloody revolution that led to the end of slavery.

After the war, Lawrence grew as a trade center as pioneers headed west, and Kansas University started making its imprint atop Mount Oread. The city later became known as where basketball came of age when Dr. James Naismith, who invented the game in 1891, came to KU in 1898 to coach.

And long before Kansas was settled by Europeans and their descendants, the area was inhabited for thousands of years by American Indians. The city is known as home to Haskell Indian Nations University, considered one of the country’s premier intertribal university.

The city has long been known as a cultural and entertainment hub and has become increasingly popular as a bedroom community for commuters traveling to the Kansas City area and Topeka.

But what do people think of Lawrence now, and what do they want it to be? Here is what some community leaders say:

Mayor Sue Hack

“I would hope that Lawrence would realize the potential that it has to work together to solve problems rather than digging in its heels on various issues. Lawrence can also be a place where children and youths are valued as our most precious resource, and these children and youths should have access to the things that will allow them to grow up to be happy, healthy and productive adults. I am always proud to say that I am from Lawrence, Kan., and I always will be.”

City Commissioner Mike Rundle

“I want to see a Lawrence in the future that continues to make top-10 lists for livability and economic development. I want to see a city that reflects the values of the entire community to visitors and residents. I want to see a city which people will recognize for the great care and vision that went into its planning.”

City Commissioner David Dunfield

“I want Lawrence to be a city that understands its unique heritage and builds on the strengths of that heritage while learning from past mistakes. I expect Lawrence to be the leading community in our state for advancing civil liberties, public education and the arts. I want Lawrence to be a place that recognizes that improving our quality of life means balancing economic development with protection of the character of our environment, both natural and man-made.”

County Commissioner Charles Jones

“I want Lawrence to be a community of strong neighborhoods, excellent schools and promising career opportunities for people who chose to live here. I want us to retain our strong sense of identity, to understand and embody the best of our heritage, and to be known for our compassion. Finally, I want Lawrence to remain culturally rich and diverse.

County Commissioner Jere McElhaney

“I would like Lawrence and Douglas County to see how fortunate we are. We are just so blessed to be in this area of the Midwest with fantastic universities around us. Sometimes we take that for granted. We don’t want to lose any of this, and we want to be able to work together and share and reach for good results and understand that the road may be a little bit bumpy but when we get there it’ll be better for everybody. We have to realize that we will always have to work for better results and there are a lot of good people in this community.”

Janet Murguia, Kansas University’s executive vice chancellor for university relations

“I’d like Lawrence to be the knowledge capital of the region and to be a community that regards education, not as a goal, but as a value. Every child should have access to early childhood education putting them on the best path to success. Ultimately, I’d like Lawrence to be the 21st century model community for learning and research, leading the state and region into an era of economic resurgence.”

Kelvin Heck, chairman of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce

“I would like to see Lawrence continue to grow and in some fashion use a shared community vision to get through to an improved understanding of each others’ positions and points of view. We need to understand community economics, what makes this engine run — the University of Kansas, the business community, the residential community — and how things get paid for in our community, and what generates the dollars that affords us this quality of life in Lawrence. I want to see us grow with a better use of long-range planning in terms of land use with an eye towards a better balanced tax base. We are becoming a too heavily dependent community on residential tax base, and losing sight of the benefit and value of a business-oriented tax base that continues to pay the freight in many communities.”