Do you live in a green city? And, just what makes a city green?
More and more cities, especially larger ones, are starting to consider their impact on the environment and are trying to make changes. The Green Guide conducted a survey in cities with populations of over 100,000 to see which ones were the greenest. They looked at each cities commitment and scored them based upon that.
What type of criteria was considered? Some cities like Eugene, Oregon had a sustainable business incubator and an extensive wetlands program. But what brought Eugene in at #1 might have been the fact that 85 percent of the cities’ power is supplied by renewable energy.
Coming in at #2 was Austin, Texas. Austin has a Green Builder program, uses a lot of solar power to generate energy, and has a smart growth initiative.
The #3 position went back to Oregon for the city of Portland. They have a great public transport system, many green buildings, and smart growth.
St. Paul, Minnesota was ranked #4 for its large amount of green space in an urban area, major greenhouse gas reductions it has made, and affordable housing.
Rounding out the top 5 was Santa Rosa, California. I was surprised to see only one California city in the top 5 because I just assume California is more environmentally conscious than the rest of us. Anyhow, Santa Rosa has a green building program, bicycle paths, and clean air and water.
The Green Guide ranked the top 25 cities. Who else made the cut? Here’s the rest of the list and some of the reasons they are green:
6. Oakland, California (local food production)
7. Berkley, California (great public transportation system)
8. Honolulu, Hawaii (generating biomass power)
9. Huntsville, Alabama (wonderful public education)
10. Denver, Colorado (home of the largest light rail system in the U.S.)
11. Boston, Massachusetts (green buildings)
12. Lexington, Kentucky (clean air)
13. Springfield, Illinois (green design)
14. Irvine, California (pedestrian friendly)
15. Cambridge, Massachusetts (lots of green space)
16. Anchorage, Alaska (great public health)
17. Syracuse, New York (committed to reducing greenhouse gases)
18. San Francisco, California (renewable energy)
19. Minneapolis, Minnesota (smoking ban)
20. Milwaukee, Wisconsin (green housing)
21. Rochester, New York (clean air)
22. Albuquerque, New Mexico (wind power)
23. Ann Arbor, Michigan (yard waste recovery)
24. Seattle, Washington (hydroelectric power)
25. Kansas City, Missouri (city specific minimum wage)