2022's Greenest Cities in America

[homebucket]

2022's Greenest Cities in America
Adam McCann, Financial Writer Oct 5, 2022

“Green” living means a choice to engage in cleaner, more sustainable habits in order to preserve the planet as much as possible. Around 53% of Americans think that protecting the environment should be prioritized above economic growth. The good news is that the market for renewable energy is growing.

Clean energy and other “green” practices, such as recycling programs and urban agriculture, help create jobs and benefit both the environment and public health, all of which contribute to America’s bottom line. Recognizing those advantages, cities across the U.S. have increased their sustainability efforts and benefited economically.

To determine the cities promoting an environmentally friendly lifestyle, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 28 key “green” indicators. Our data set ranges from greenhouse-gas emissions per capita to number of smart-energy policies and initiatives to green job opportunities.

The list:
1. San Diego
2. Portland
3. Honolulu
4. Fremont
5. Washington DC
6. Oakland
7. Seattle
8. San Francisco
9. Irvine
10. San Jose

Source:
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-least-green-cities/16246

[Steely Dan]

so, the pacific coast + DC.

no real surprises here.

[homebucket]

Greenhouse-Gas Emissions per Capita

Lowest
T-1. Virginia Beach, VA
T-1. Oakland, CA
T-1. Jersey City, NJ
T-1. Reno, NV
T-1. Hialeah, FL
T-1. San Bernardino, CA

Highest
T-96. Oklahoma City, OK
T-96. Tulsa, OK
T-96. Denver, CO
T-96. Baton Rouge, LA
T-96. Corpus Christi, TX

% of Green Space

Highest
T-1. Anchorage, AK
T-1. Fremont, CA
T-1. Irvine, CA
4. Albuquerque, NM
5. Chesapeake, VA

Lowest
94. Mesa, AZ
95. Baton Rouge, LA
96. Lubbock, TX
97. Lexington-Fayette, KY
98. Hialeah, FL

% of Commuters Who Drive

Lowest
1. New York, NY
2. Jersey City, NJ
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Washington, DC
5. Boston, MA

Highest
T-96. Bakersfield, CA
T-96. Fort Wayne, IN
98. Chesapeake, VA
99. Corpus Christi, TX
100. Wichita, KS

Bike Score

T-1. Portland, OR
T-1. Minneapolis, MN
T-3. Chicago, IL
T-3. San Francisco, CA
T-3. Denver, CO

Lowest
96. Greensboro, NC
T-97. Charlotte, NC
T-97. Birmingham, AL
99. Nashville, TN
100. Winston-Salem, NC

Farmers Markets per Capita

Most
1. Honolulu, HI
2. Miami, FL
3. San Francisco, CA
4. New York, NY
5. Orlando, FL

Fewest
93. Irving, TX
94. North Las Vegas, NV
95. Newark, NJ
96. Lincoln, NE
97. Arlington, TX

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

so, the pacific coast + DC.

no real surprises here.

Minneapolis is pretty much right there. Just misses out at 11th.

11. Minneapolis
12. Sacramento
13. Buffalo
14. Denver
15. Albuquerque

[iheartthed]

How on Earth does New York score below places like Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Miami on "Transportation"? lol.

[Crawford]

"Farmers Markets per Capita" weighted equally to parks and transit share. Makes sense...

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Crawford

"Farmers Markets per Capita" weighted equally to parks and transit share. Makes sense...

Not exactly.

Farmers Markets & CSA Programs per Capita was weighted at 2.5 points. Green space was at 4.44 points. There are various transportation metrics that add up to 25 points.

Transportation – Total Points: 25
- Share of Commuters Who Drive Alone: Double Weight (~4.55 Points) Note: This metric includes commuters who do not carpool, walk, ride public transit or bike.
- Average Commute Time by Car: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
- Walk Score: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
- Bike Score: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
- Miles of Bicycle Lanes: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
- Presence of Bike-Sharing Program: Full Weight (~2.27 Points) Note: This binary metric measures the presence or absence of bike-sharing programs in a city.
- Annual Excess Fuel Consumption: Full Weight (~2.27 Points) Note: This metric measures gallons per auto commuter and was used as a proxy for “congestion level.”
- Intersection Density: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
- Accessibility of Jobs by Public Transit: Full Weight (~2.27 Points) Note: This metric measures the number of jobs that are accessible by a 30-minute transit ride per 100 civilian employed population.
- Alternative-Fuel Stations per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

[edale]

I don't buy it. Sprawly Irvine- land of the cul-de-sac, gated communities, and mega stroads- does not feel 'green' in any way to me.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

How on Earth does New York score below places like Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Miami on "Transportation"? lol.

Yeah, that part is a bit puzzling to me. This would've been the one category NYC should've scored very high in.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by edale

I don't buy it. Sprawly Irvine- land of the cul-de-sac, gated communities, and mega stroads- does not feel 'green' in any way to me.

I believe it scores high in % of green space as well as clean energy sources and lifestyle/policy.

Energy Sources – Total Points: 20
- Share of Electricity from Renewable Sources: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
- Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installations per Capita: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
- Number of Smart-Energy Policies & Initiatives: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Lifestyle & Policy – Total Points: 15
- Farmers Markets & CSA Programs per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.50 Points) Note: “CSA” refers to community-supported agriculture.
- Certified Organic Farms per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
- Community Garden Plots per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
- “Green” Job Opportunities: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
- Number of Local Programs Promoting Green-Energy Use: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
- Presence of Plastic Bag Bans: Full Weight (~2.50 Points) Note: This binary metric measures the presence or absence of policies that have banned the use of disposable plastic bags in a city.

[202_Cyclist]

I am surprised Irvine is on the list. I am sure nearly every household has a Tesla in Irvine but the city isn't particularly walkable. It does have an Amtrak and Metrolink station, however.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

I am surprised Irvine is on the list. I am sure nearly every household has a Tesla in Irvine but the city isn't particularly walkable. It does have an Amtrak and Metrolink station, however.

Same for Fremont, although replace Metrolink with Bart.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by edale

I don't buy it. Sprawly Irvine- land of the cul-de-sac, gated communities, and mega stroads- does not feel 'green' in any way to me.

Yeah, and Jersey City is #6. I believe a higher percentage of residents commute to work by car in Jersey City than NYC. But JC above NYC makes way more sense than Atlanta, which sounds absurd.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Yeah, and Jersey City is #6. I believe a higher percentage of residents commute to work by car in Jersey City than NYC. But JC above NYC makes way more sense than Atlanta, which sounds absurd.

And Orlando is ranked #5 for transportation Philadephia is 34, NYC is 35 and Chicago is 51.

[dave8721]

I assume "average commute time by car" is dragging down NYC and others. It doesn't take into account that few people are actually commuting by car. But those who do obviously would be stuck in traffic forever in NYC.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Same for Fremont, although replace Metrolink with Bart.

Fremont does have quite a bit of green space within the city limits, including the hills. Still upset Sac is at number 11 though...Natomas probably brings it down a notch.

[ChiSoxRox]

Originally Posted by homebucket

% of Green Space

Highest
T-1. Anchorage, AK
T-1. Fremont, CA
T-1. Irvine, CA
4. Albuquerque, NM
5. Chesapeake, VA

I am curious what definition they're using for Anchorage's footprint, as over half of the city limits are Chugach State Park:





If I have a remote work or work-from-home position one day, Anchorage is right at the top of my list, as it combines urban amenities with having trailheads to *that* within bus range.

[JManc]

Fremont's "green" spaces are more like scorched brown spaces but yeah, plenty of parks and stuff to do outside. Cannot beat the weather here to take advantage of it all.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by JManc

Fremont's "green" spaces are more like scorched brown spaces but yeah, plenty of parks and stuff to do outside. Cannot beat the weather here to take advantage of it all.

Turns green in the winter, or earlier if it actually rains and it's already started to change up here. For sure brown or tan in the summer with an elevated fire risk.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I believe it scores high in % of green space as well as clean energy sources and lifestyle/policy.

I’m not surprised by Irvine. It’s park rich. And they actually have trees lining theirs streets. It has more parks per capita than most of the country and easy access to open space. Anywhere in Irvine, you have close access to some trail. Second, residents have among the shortest commutes because they stay local. Something like half of residents who live in Irvine also work in the city. The lack of major traffic congestion also helps mitigate the amount of pollution from stalled cars that are everywhere in major congested cities. Also, streets that don’t have bike lanes are the exception, not the rule.

More importantly, it actually took an effort to manage water better than most cities in the West. 22% is imported and the rest is local/recycled water. The last point alone puts to shame practically every major city in California that seem to want to wait for a cataclysmic drought before taking structural water projects seriously.