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City Innovation

<< City Commuting | Energy & Climate Change >>

How We Rated Cities

For city innovation, SustainLane analyzed the following categories using primary research:

  • Environmentally preferable purchasing programs
  • City commercial green building incentives
  • City residential green building incentives
  • Carpooling coordination
  • Car sharing programs (public or private)
  • At least one other significant city innovation or program not accounted for in the other five areas

2008 Rankings

2008 Rankings

Leading

1. Portland, OR
1. Chicago, IL
1. Seattle, WA
1. New York, NY
1. San Francisco, CA
6. Minneapolis, MN
6. Boston, MA
6. Los Angeles, CA
9. Baltimore, MD
9. Sacramento, CA

Advanced

9. San Diego, CA
12. Dallas, TX
12. Tucson, AZ
12. Phoenix, AZ
12. Denver, CO
12. Washington, DC
12. Oakland, CA
18. Columbus, OH
18. Albuquerque, NM
20. Omaha, NE

Mixed

20. Fresno, CA
22. San Antonio, TX
22. Philadelphia, PA
22. Charlotte, NC
22. Cleveland, OH
22. Milwaukee, WI
22. Austin, TX
22. New Orleans, LA
22. Atlanta, GA
30. Houston, TX

Challenged

31. Kansas City, MO
31. Las Vegas, NV
31. Honolulu, HI
34. Arlington, TX
34. El Paso, TX
34. Oklahoma City, OK
34. Indianapolis, IN
34. Louisville, KY
34. San Jose, CA
34. Miami, FL

Endangered

41. Long Beach, CA
42. Fort Worth, TX
42. Colorado Springs, CO
N/A Detroit, MI
N/A Jacksonville, FL
N/A Memphis, TN
N/A Mesa, AZ
N/A Nashville, TN
N/A Tulsa, OK
N/A Virginia Beach, VA

Chicago, Portland, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle tied at number one, satisfying all six subcategories. Tied at number six are Boston, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. The 43 cities that responded to the survey are included in this list.

<< City Commuting | Energy & Climate Change >>

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Another flaw in the human character is that everyone wants to build, but nobody wants to do maintenance. —Kurt Vonnegut

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