SustainLane 2006 US City Sustainability Ranking
Boston: It Only Gets Better
Set on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mystic, Charles, and Chelsea rivers, Boston was a key port city in colonial days. The compact city aspires to create a future as bright as its past by improving an already efficient urban metabolism built on core strengths in public transit and planning.
Recent efforts at urban renewal have had positive environmental effects: A 12 percent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, a 25 percent to 33 percent reduction of noise in surrounding neighborhoods, and the addition of 320 acres of new parkland, according to Boston.com.
Boston is on the road to becoming a more sustainable city, with a city government committed to sustainable practices. There are several opportunities that could promote an even better quality of life for the city's residents. Improvement in both air and water quality would make the city a healthier place to live. About half of the city relies on heating oil, most of which is imported and vulnerable to world market forces. And this mostly sea-level city has no greenhouse gas reduction goals or tracking mechanism. Portland, San Francisco, and New Orleans could all serve as models for improvement in that area.
