Light My Fire

City Rankings Article

Category Discussion: Planning & Land Use

For this ranking, the data analyzed included park percentage per total city land area (from the Trust for Public Land) as well as a sprawl ranking developed by Smart Growth America in a 2002 study of US cities. SustainLane primary research of cities' pedestrian and bicycle access and planning, transit-oriented development and regional planning efforts rounded out the final rankings. New York ranks number one overall in planning, with about 20 percent of its land devoted to parks, combined with a sprawl rating that is best out of the nation's top 50 cities. San Francisco, Portland, Boston, Albuquerque, Austin and New Orleans follow. Although Atlanta ranks low in park space this time around, we look forward to seeing the city's finished "BeltLine" greenspace, trails, transit, and new development project light a fire under the city's future planning/ land use ranking.