SustainLane’s 2008 City Ranking – How Sustainable Is Your City?

I know my “city” isn’t on here, as we only have a few thousand people here, but your city might be. SustainLane released their 2008 U.S. City Sustainability Rankings, which ranks the 50 most-populous cities on urban sustainability. Their rankings “gauge, for instance, which cities”™ public transit, renewable energy, local food, and development approaches are most likely to either limit or intensify the negative economic and environmental impacts of fossil fuel dependence.” So who came out as the #1 sustainable city? Portland, Oregon – which is probably no surprise to the people who live there seeing as how they came in first last year too:

The city enacted strict land-use policies, implementing an urban growth boundary, requiring density, and setting a strong precedent for sustainable development. The city’s natural beauty is hard to beat, too. But Portlanders aren”™t resting on their laurels. According to the city’s sustainable development director, Portland aims to be a “20 Minute City” — where residents spend 20 or less minutes traveling from home to work, shop or play. “Portland’s support of local farmers and farmers’ markets; its explosion of green buildings and commitment to renewable energy, and its emphasis on mass transportation, including light rail and bicycles, shows that a city can not only be kind to the earth, but also flourish economically and grow by being green.”

The 10 most sustainable cities on the list are:

1. Portland, OR

2. San Francisco, CA

3. Seattle, WA

4. Chicago, IL

5. New York, NY

6. Boston, MA

7. Minneapolis, MN

8. Philadelphia, PA

9. Oakland, CA

10. Baltimore, MD

You can see the full list of rankings over at SustainLane, as well as learn about how the study was conducted, different ways to help your city go green, & read some featured stories from people living in the most sustainable cities.

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