SustainLane 2006 US City Sustainability Ranking
Houston: Moving Forward
In SustainLane's 2005 US City Rankings, which benchmarked 25 cities, Houston came in last place. Citizens' meetings, Internet bulletin boards, and radio talk shows were full of reactions to our analysis-many of them negative, all of them impassioned. Locals said there were things going on in sustainability and environmental management that we failed to acknowledge.
Part of the problem was that the city didn't have anyone in place to manage or communicate sustainability performance. Since our rankings came out in June 2005, Mayor Bill White has appointed a Director of Environmental Programming to work across the city's departments so Houstonians and others can find out what's happening more easily. The city has also made some positive steps toward a more sustainable future.
The public outcry and reaction to our study demonstrate that the city cares about building a better future for its whole city. Houston ranks #39 out of 50 cities this year. Up-and-coming green projects, a clean tech incubator, and affordable housing all augur a positive direction for the nation's fourth largest city.
