Nonprofit organization Scenic Texas—which works to enhance the beauty of the state's cities, especially for travelers—has certified 21 Texas municipalities, including League City and Webster, as scenic cities, according to a Scenic Texas press release.

League City was recognized for the first time and received a gold ranking. Webster was re-certified at a silver ranking, and Friendswood was re-certified at a platinum ranking. They and the other winners will be recognized with awards at the Texas Municipal League's annual conference Oct. 10 in San Antonio, bringing the total number of certified scenic cities in Texas to 82, according to the release.

The recognization comes from Scenic Texas' scenic city certification program, a nationally recognized model that provides communities with guidelines to design and develop public roads and spaces. Scenic Texas reviews interested cities' infrastructure ordinances compared to the program's standards and gives official certification to cities that rank high in landscaping, tree planting and sign regulation, according to the release.

“Through the scenic city certification program, cities access a low-cost, high rate-of-return diagnostic tool,” Scenic Texas Executive Director Sarah Tober said in the release. “The detailed evaluation of existing infrastructure standards provides cities with a roadmap for future growth and development. As municipalities continue to aspire to certification and our highest level of recognition, platinum, it is a reflection of communities working to make a more scenic Texas for citizens and visitors.”

Several other organizations—including Houston-Galveston Area Council, Keep Texas Beautiful and Texas Economic Development Council—are partners in Scenic Texas' scenic city certification program, according to the release.