SustainLane 2006 US City Sustainability Ranking

Austin: A Pioneer

Austin was a pioneer in green building during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when most cities gave little thought to the consequences of building energy, water, and material use. With the help of visionary local architect Pliny Fisk and Gail Vittori, Austin developed a whole rating system and program around the concept.

More recently, Mayor Will Wynn has led the charge for renewable energy, making Austin a national center for innovation. The Clean Energy Incubator is a consortium of business, academic-the University of Texas has its main campus here-and state government leaders devoted to helping young clean-energy companies succeed.

Austin's businesses and residents have some of the highest use of consumer-choice renewables of any US metro area. To satisfy that demand, the city's public utility, Austin Energy, has tapped into a diverse network of solar, wind, and other forms of renewables.

Mayor Wynn has also pushed adoption of an emerging transportation technology, the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The idea is to drive demand so that the Big Three auto companies and other manufacturers will have a ready-made base of customers and thus will commit to mass production of these 100-mile-per-gallon wonders.

Given such a clear commitment to sustainability, why isn't Austin in the top ten of SustainLane's US City Rankings? Mainly because the city remains heavily car-dependent, with ramifications for congestion and overall economic health.