Best Green Cities in America
Ever wondered what cities really were the most green? Country Home magazine ranked 379 metropolitan areas in their Best Green Cities in America report.
Here are their top 10 green cities, based on air and watershed quality, mass transit use, power use and number of organic producers and farmers’ markets:
1. Burlington, VT (pictured) – It definitely deserves the top nod. Among it’s winning attributes:
– A program collects food scraps from restaurants, supermarkets and food manufacturers and sells them as compost to farmers, gardeners and landscapers.
– The city hosts 16 farmers’ markets, five organic producers and three food co-ops.
– 12.3% of Burlington-area commuters use car pools, 5.6% of the work force walks to work and 4.6% work at home.
– It’s also one of the most progressive cities overall. There are no less than a dozen mentions of Burlington on this site, including a profile and study of its retail in the members area.
2. Ithaca, NY
3. Corvallis, OR
4. Springfield, MA
5. Wenatchee, WA
6. Charlottesville, VA
7. Boulder, CO
8. Madison, WI
9. Binghamton, NY
10. Champaign-Urbana, IL
Tell us about your city!
Image source: redjar
About The Author
I can never force myself to take these lists seriously…as I have trouble calling most of these places “cities.”
My friend Russ just sent me your link… great site. And, while I agree that such lists are a bit half-baked, as a Burlington resident, I think this one tastes just fine.
One more feature worthy of note… launched just last fall, a local online service called Front Porch Forum now has 20% of the City of Burlington subscribed. The city is divided into 38 neighborhood forums and people use them to great effect.
My wife and I started Front Porch Forum after our neighborhood, the Five Sisters, was named to a similar top ten list for best neighborhoods in the United States last year. Many of the residents claimed our “secret formula” online neighborhood forum was a leading reason for the incredible sense of community here… now we’re sharing it with lots of other neighborhoods… check it out!
Ecovillage of Ithaca. Their link [www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us] may not go through (as of 5/8/07), however there is a book on the location/development on Amazon. Though I toured Ecovillage a few years ago, I have not read the book.
http://www.amazon.com/EcoVillage-Ithaca-Pioneering-Sustainable-Culture/dp/0865715246
Growing up 9 miles from Ithaca, attending Cornell and working in Binghamton for 2 summers and one winter break, I can not honestly say I see where some of their results are coming from. I can say, however, that Ithaca tries hard, often with Cornell and Ithaca College’s help. Oftentimes it is a mix of what always was and what has been fought for to stay. Being a college/touristy/wine/lake/retirees/small-town locals/post-machinery-now-more-high-tech town, Ithaca has many advantages on its side.