The Greenest Cities in America

The growing Green movement in America

There is no set formula to determine how green a city is. A lot of different elements come into play: recycling, public transport, pollution control, sustainable building, even neighborhood and citizen empowerment programs. Maybe that’s why a new list of America’s greenest cities comes out every few months, each one different, based on the aspect of sustainability the list makers think is most important.

There are some cities, however, that almost everyone agrees are leading the way in green design and development, cities that are not only leaders now, but continue to experiment and pioneer new methods of achieving sustainability. Here are six that everyone agrees are among the greenest cities in the nation, cities that provide a model and an inspiration for the rest of the country.

Austin, Texas
Austin is not only one of the greenest cities in the country, but it has also set what may be the most ambitious sustainability goal of any city in the world: to be completely carbon neutral by 2020. Ample solar energy and wind power help, but the city is also instituting intensive recycling, biodiesel, and building programs. There’s already a requirement that all new home construction be zero net-energy.

Chicago, Illinois
Chicago doesn’t seem a likely candidate for a green city, but it has one of the most active sustainability programs in the country, including recycling, green building, and promotion of pubic transportation. One of the most interesting initiatives is an extensive green roof program. So far, Chicago has over 2.5 million square feet of green roofs. Even the nation’s tallest building, the Willis Tower (once known as the Sears Tower), has one.

Berkeley, California
In this case, Berkeley represents for all of the San Francisco Bay area. San Francisco and Oakland often turn up on greenest cities lists, but Berkeley should get special mention for being the birthplace of the modern green movement, especially in terms of sustainable urban development (with shout-outs to Eugene, Oregon and Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well). A longtime leader in alternative transportation and clean energy, Berkeley continues to be a model for new programs and community initiatives.

Seattle, Washington/Portland, Oregon
Tied together as they are in so many ways, it only makes sense that these two northwest cities should be tied together in sustainability efforts as well. Both are engaged in ambitious programs regarding recycling, public and alternative transportation, and sustainable design. Green building is a big part of the equation: Seattle has more LEED certified buildings than any city in the country. Portland, meanwhile, has been way ahead of the curve; in 1993 they became the first city in the country to enact a Global Warming Action plan.

Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is another city that has developed a master plan for sustainability, with initiatives for building a city and taxi fleet of hybrid vehicles, using recyclable materials and trash to generate energy, and increasing use of solar power. The mayor’s office recently instituted a program to plant over 100,000 new trees in the city by 2020.

Heather Johnson writes for HoneymoonDestinations.org, the best honeymoon research and planning website. Discover some great honeymoon ideas today!

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