How green is your city? : the SustlainLane U.S. City Rankings

in Our Carbon-challenged, Post-katrina World, How Do America's Largest Cities Stack Up In Terms Of Sustainability? Which Cities Are More Self-sufficient And Better-prepared For Our Uncertain Future, And Which Cities Are Operating Business-as-usual? how Green Is Your City? Examines The Outcome Of A Sustainability Study Of The 50 Largest U.s. Cities. how Green Is Your City? Employed 15 Categories By Which To Measure Each City's Performance And Ranked Them Overall According To Category And Cumulative Results. Among Those Standards: public Transit Use walkability And Bikability air And Tap Water Quality planning/land Use city Innovation affordability energy/climate Change Policy renewable Energy local Food/agriculture green Economy sustainability Management leading The Pack Is Portland, Oregon, With Its High Quality Of Life And Commitment To Green Building, Local Food, Alternative Fuels And Renewable Energy, While Columbus, Ohio, With Its Dependence On The Automobile, Coal-generated Power And Poor Public Transit Ridership, Ranks At The Bottom. how Green Is Your City? Offers An In-depth Analysis Of Each City's Management Policies, Strengths And Challenges, As Well As The Emerging Job And Tax Base Expansion Opportunities With The Growth Of Clean Technologies. how Green Is Your City? Will Appeal To City Planners, Economic Development Professionals, Legislators, Green Businesses, As Well As Anyone Interested In Their Quality Of Life And Making Their City A More Sustainableplace. about The Author warren Karlenzig Is President Of Common Current (www.commoncurrent.com), A Sustainability Consultancy In San Anselmo, Ca. He Was Chief Strategy Officer And Research Director For Sustainlane. He Has Worked As A Strategic Consultant With Federal Agencies, Major Cities And The World's Largest Corporations For 20 Years. Formerly, He Was Editor-in-chief Of knowledge Management Magazine, And Lead Strategist For Dimension Data/ Proxicom. His Areas Of Expertise Include Planning Complex Information And Data Systems, And Communications. In Sustainability, Warren Has Been A Leading Consultant With Clients Including The U.s. Department Of State, White House Office Of Science And Technology, The Us Epa Futures Group, The State Of California And The Us Dept. Of Energy, As Well As The European Union And The Nation Of Korea. His Previous Book, a Blueprint For Greening Affordable Housing Was The First Substantial Work On The Subject (global Green Usa, 1999) And He Was Involved With San Francisco's Influential Sustainability Plan, Formally Adopted By The City's Board Of Supervisors In 1997. He Coordinated And Co-authored The Economy And Economic Development Section Of The Plan, Which Was Directly Cited In San Francisco's 1999 And 2003 Green Municipal Building Ordinances. editorial Reviews how Green Is Your City? Is The First Systematic Report Card Measuring City Quality Of Life Combined With Resource Impacts....i Believe The Methodology Will Become International, And None Too Soon. —paul Hawken, Author Of ecology Of Commerce and blessed Unrest how Green Is Your City? Provides The First Benchmark Quantifying And Qualifying Management Innovation And The Performance Of American Cities As They Seek To Define What Sustainability Is —hunter Lovins, Founder, Natural Capitalism, Inc.; co-author Of natural Capitalism how Green Is Your City? Has The Most Rigorous Methodology Going To Separate The Bright Greens From The Pale Greens, Yellows And Reds. Green Cities Are The Future, Read This Book!—randy Hayes, Founder, Rainforest Action Network And Former Director Of Sustainability, City Of Oakland, Ca sustainability Is More Than An Environmental Issue. It's About Our Economic And Personal Security, As Well As The Health And Well-being Of Our Families And Neighbors. how Green Is Your City? Is A Powerful Indicator Of How Prepared Cities Are To Address Both The Challenges And Opportunities Ahead. It Is Destined To Play A Critical Role In Leading Local Governments To Help Their Economies And Communities Survive And Thrive In Uncertain Times. —joel Makower, Founder, Greenbiz.com, And Co-founder and Principal, Clean Edge, Inc. warren Is The Creator And Lead Author Of The Sustainlane Us City Rankings. I've Been In The Sustainability Business For 15 Or 20 Years Now. And These Types Of Rankings Have Been Tried Dozens And Dozens Of Times And This In My Opinion Is The Best One In Terms Of Its Rigor And How Much Care They've Given To Apples-to-apples Comparisons. A Lot Of That Comes From Warren's Commitment. —steve Nicholas, Seattle Sustainability Director how Green Is Your City? Is The First National Ranking Of 50 Us Cities Evaluating How Well Cities Are Doing In Implementing Sustainable Practices Based On A Comprehensive Set Of Indicators, Ranging From Air Quality To Use Of Renewable Energy. This Is A Must Read For City Officials And Citizens Who Are Interested In How Cities Are Responding To The Integrated Global Challenges Of Environmental And Economic Sustainability. —prof. Susan M. Wachter, Co-director, Institute For urban Research, And Director, Wharton Geospatial initiative, The Wharton School, University Of pennsylvania Acknowledgments......Page 10 Foreword by Paul Hawken......Page 12 Part 1: Introduction......Page 16 Part II: The Rankings: City Rankings (with one corresponding bar chart for each)......Page 36 #1 Portland, OR: A Role Model for the Nation......Page 38 #2 San Francisco, CA: Still a Shining Example......Page 42 #3 Seattle, WA: Protecting a Promising Future......Page 46 #4 Chicago, IL: The Wind at Its Back......Page 50 #5 Oakland, CA: Stepping out of the Shadows......Page 54 #6 New York City, NY: Sustainability Out of Necessity......Page 56 #7 Boston, MA: It Only Gets Better......Page 60 #8 Philadelphia, PA: City on the Move......Page 62 #9 Denver, CO: On the Fast Track......Page 66 #10 Minneapolis, MN: Clean Air, Big Plans......Page 70 #11 Baltimore, MD: A Port Town Reinventing Itself......Page 74 #12 Washington, DC: Leading by Example......Page 76 #13 Sacramento, CA: Capital Ideas......Page 80 #14 Austin, TX: A Pioneer......Page 82 #15 Honolulu, HI: Almost Paradise......Page 86 #16 Milwaukee, WI: From Beer to Biomass......Page 88 #17 San Diego, CA: An Emerging Leader?......Page 90 #18 Kansas City, MO: Laying the Groundwork......Page 94 #19 Albuquerque, NM: Making a U-Turn......Page 98 #20 Tucson, AZ: Becoming Sustainable in the Sun Belt......Page 102 #21 San Antonio, TX: Building on a Broad Range of Strengths......Page 104 #22 Phoenix, AZ: Something New Under the Sun......Page 108 #23 San Jose, CA: High Tech Hub Makes Strides......Page 110 #24 Dallas, TX: Taking the Bull by the Horns......Page 114 #25 Los Angeles, CA: Significant Progress......Page 116 #26 Colorado Springs, CO: Growing Up Smart......Page 120 #27 Las Vegas, NV: Viva?......Page 122 #28 Cleveland, OH: Give and Take on the Lake......Page 126 #29 Miami, FL: Gateway of the Americas......Page 128 #30 Long Beach, CA: A Sea of Opportunities......Page 130 #31 El Paso, TX: Bordering on Sustainability......Page 132 #32 New Orleans, LA: Resiliently Facing the Future......Page 134 #33 Fresno, CA: Nature’s Bounty......Page 136 #34 Charlotte, NC: New Alternatives in the Pipeline......Page 138 #35 Louisville, KY: City of Parks......Page 142 #36 Jacksonville, FL: Thinking Ahead......Page 144 #37 Omaha, NE: Encouraging Signs in the Heartland......Page 148 #38 Atlanta, GA: Inland Port Takes Baby Steps......Page 150 #39 Houston, TX: Moving Forward......Page 154 #40 Tulsa, OK: Rich History. Clean Tech Future?......Page 156 #41 Arlington, TX, Texas: City at a Crossroads......Page 160 #42 Nashville, TN: Music City......Page 162 #43 Detroit, MI: Opportunities for Change......Page 164 #43 Memphis, TN: Living for Today......Page 166 #45 Indianapolis, IN: Time for a Pit Stop?......Page 168 #46 Fort Worth, TX: Taking Steps Toward Sustainability......Page 172 #47 Mesa, AZ: Surviving the Desert Boom......Page 174 #48 Virginia Beach, VA: Not Just for Tourists Anymore......Page 176 #49 Oklahoma City, OK: Planting a Few Seeds......Page 178 #50 Columbus, OH: Time to Get Green......Page 182 Part III: Cities by Category Ranking......Page 184 Index......Page 216 About the Authors......Page 224 In our carbon-challenged, post-Katrina world, how do America's largest cities stack up in terms of sustainability? Which cities are more self-sufficient and better-prepared for our uncertain future, and which cities are operating business-as-usual? How Green is Your City? examines the outcome of a sustainability study of the 50 largest U.S. cities. How Green is Your City? employed 15 categories by which to measure each city's performance and ranked them overall according to category and cumulative results. Among those Public transit use Walkability and bikability Air and tap water quality Planning/land use City innovation Affordability Energy/climate change policy Renewable energy Local food/agriculture Green economy Sustainability management Leading the pack is Portland, Oregon, with its high quality of life and commitment to green building, local food, alternative fuels and renewable energy, while Columbus, Ohio, with its dependence on the automobile, coal-generated power and poor public transit ridership, ranks at the bottom. How Green is Your City? offers an in-depth analysis of each city's management policies, strengths and challenges, as well as the emerging job and tax base expansion opportunities with the growth of clean technologies. How Green is Your City? will appeal to city planners, economic development professionals, legislators, green businesses, as well as anyone interested in their quality of life and making their city a more sustainable place. "Portland, Oregon, a role model for cities in the United States, topped the 2006 SustainLane US City Rankings. Portland residents and businesses have teamed with politicians to ensure that quality of life remains superior, with an economy that increasingly integrates regional and renewable resources. Neighborhoods facilitate walking, cycling and shopping; downtown transit is free. The city bolsters local business and regional agriculture, while green buildings and park space are ample. Columbus, Ohio, at number 50, has some work to do to catch up, but has a few green surprises nevertheless." "How Green is Your City? quantitatively ranks the 50 largest US cities overall from comprehensive data and information based upon 15 standards, including: climate change policy and energy supply; green building; planning and land use; air and tap water quality; and public transit." "An analysis of each city considers policies, quality-of-life indicators and economic factors, providing kudos for successes and recommendations for challenges."--Jacket