27. New Orleans, LA

“Jazz needs you, Creole cooking needs you, and New Orleans needs you now more than ever.” That’s the message on the Bring New Orleans Back website, as part of a commission appointed by Mayor Ray Nagin to create a blueprint for rebuilding the city. Since Hurricane Katrina devastated NoLa in 2005, some have questioned the sustainability of a city that sits partially below sea level on a Mississippi River Delta floodplain. Still, if any good has come from the disaster, it’s the city’s opportunity to rebuild green. The city’s new fleet runs entirely on alternative fuels, for example. And heavy-hitter green building advocates have taken a special interest in New Orleans as well, including the international organization, Global Green, whose newly-minted LEED Platinum home was built to withstand high water and 130 mph winds. The organization has pledged to build 23 of these homes as well as a community center in the Ninth Ward. Actor Brad Pitt is also committed to recovery and sustainable redevelopment in the city; his organization, Make It Right, plans to build 150 green homes in the Lower Ninth Ward.

(Photo by Lyndi&Jason)