Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

photo credit: StuSeeger

This week, SustainLane released their annual ranking of city sustainability of the fifty most populous cities in the nation, with Portland, Oregon placing first, followed by San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago - each holding onto their same spots as last year.  My native city, New York City,  moved up one notch into fifth place.  Mesa, Arizona came in last.  The most improved city from the study was Columbus, Ohio, moving up to 37th from last place last year.  Las Vegas dropped the most, moving from 27th to 47th place.

Each city in this study was ranked according to the following criteria.  I’ve noted the city that ranked highest in each category:

• Air Quality (Honolulu, HI)
• City Commuting (Washington, DC)
• Energy & Climate Change (San Francisco, CA)
• Local Food/Agriculture (Minneapolis, MN)
• Green Building (Portland, OR)
• Green Economy (Portland, OR)
• Housing Affordability (San Antonio, TX)
• City Innovation (Portland, OR)
• Knowledge Base (Portland, OR)
• Metro Street Congestion (Cleveland, OH)
• Metro Transit Ridership (New York, NY)
• Natural Disaster Risk (Mesa, AZ)
• Planning/Land Use (New York, NY)
• Waste Management (San Francisco, CA)
• Tap Water Quality (Kansas City, MO)
• Water Supply (Chicago, IL)

Here is the full list of city rankings:
Cities are listed by their 2008 Rankings order. Numbers in parentheses ( ) denote 2006 Rankings.

1. Portland, OR (1)
2. San Francisco, CA (2)
3. Seattle, WA (3)
4. Chicago, IL (4)
5. New York, NY (6)
6. Boston, MA (7)
7. Minneapolis, MN (10)
8. Philadelphia, PA (8)
9. Oakland, CA (5)
10. Baltimore, MD (11)
11. Denver, CO (9)
12. Milwaukee, WI (16)
13. Austin, TX (14)
14. Sacramento, CA (13)
15. Washington, DC (12)
16. Cleveland, OH (28)
17. Honolulu, HI (15)
18. Albuquerque, NM (19)
19. Atlanta, GA (38)
20. Kansas City, MO (18)
21. San Jose, CA (23)
22. Tucson, AZ (20)
23. Jacksonville, FL (36)
24. Dallas, TX (24)
25. Omaha, NE (37)
26. San Diego, CA (17)
27. New Orleans, LA (32)
28. Los Angeles, CA (25)
29. Louisville, KY (35)
30. Columbus, OH (50)
31. Detroit, MI (43)
32. Phoenix, AZ (22)
33. San Antonio, TX (21)
34. Miami, FL (29)
35. Charlotte, NC (34)
36. Houston, TX (39)
37. Fresno, CA (33)
38. El Paso, TX (31)
39. Fort Worth, TX (46)
40. Nashville, TN (42)
41. Arlington, TX (41)
42. Long Beach, CA (30)
43. Colorado Springs, CO (26)
44. Indianapolis, IN (45)
45. Virginia Beach, VA (48)
46. Memphis, TN (43)
47. Las Vegas, NV (27)
48. Tulsa, OK (40)
49. Oklahoma City, OK (49)
50. Mesa, AZ (47)

For more detailed information on each city and the findings from this study, visit SustainLane’s website: http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/

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