The SustainLane 2006 US City Rankings

Dallas: Taking the Bull by the Horns

Dallas is the jewel in the crown of the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth Metroplex. The largest of the three cities, Dallas prides itself on being the hippest and most sophisticated city in North Texas. It has the best restaurants, best music scene, and most ethnically diverse population, and it's the economic engine driving the region. Moreover, it is the most sustainable of the three cities based on our criteria.

But Dallas isn't content to be a big fish in the big state of Texas. The city is taking steps to be more competitive with all of the 50 major US cities we ranked, and has developed a comprehensive plan called Forward Dallas! outlining its strategies.

The city government has involved the community in creating a path toward greater sustainability. It already has a comprehensive environmentally preferable purchasing plan and is working on implementing an Environmental Management System in 11 city departments. The system will be overseen by the newly established Office of Environmental Quality.

Dallas will soon complete its greenhouse gas inventory, and it has a number of other interesting projects in the works, including using a bioreactor at the landfill to produce methane as fuel. Organizations such as Sustainable Dallas are working with the city to help kick-start sustainable ventures. Developing a local food infrastructure and aggressively promoting recycling-Dallas ranks #41 in waste diversion-are two things the city can do to move forward at an even faster pace.

Dallas: Taking the Bull by the Horns