50 Largest US Cities Green Ranking

We hope you enjoy reading through our work as much as we enjoyed creating it! Get started now with a closer look at our methodology, or a review of what makes a sustainable city. Or if you'd like, simply cut to the chase and check out the Rankings. We'll be continually updating these pages with stories from the field, so check back often. Thanks for visiting, and happy reading!

1. Portland, OR
If you live in Portland, you might want to think twice before complaining about the 40-plus inches of rain dumped on your head every year. It might be the only thing keeping the entire country from moving to your city by the Prius-load. Portland retained its title as SustainLane's number one city to beat this year–not surprising given that it got a 30-year jump on the rest of the country.

2. San Francisco, CA
If you can afford to live in this top-ranked SustainLane city, the first thing you may notice after moving here (once you're done gaping at the suspended marvel spanning the Bay) is how well this city recycles. After all, how many cities' solid waste and recycling centers have artists in residence?more »

3. Seattle, WA
If Seattle’s 2006 SustainLane ranking had you considering a move to the coast, it’s time to call the movers. The Pacific northwestern metropolis is once again sitting pretty near the top of the SustainLane heap at number three. And by "pretty" we're referring to its location between Puget Sound and Lake Washington and to its easy access to just about any kind of outdoorsy activity your sustainable heart desires.

Worst:

50. Mesa, AZ
Mesa, Arizona just might be the biggest city you’ve never heard of. Founded by Mormon pioneers in 1878, and with more people in it than Cleveland, Miami or Minneapolis, the desert city has one of the best natural disaster risk factors in the country; that is, nature’s wrath is least likely to get you in Mesa. But what might take you down is the city’s polluted air-it ranks 46th out of 50 in our survey.more »

49. Oklahoma City, OK
When Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett noticed that his city was showing up on national obesity rankings, he made his New Year's resolution for 2008: he put the entire city on a diet, with the goal of losing a collective million pounds. (You can check out the mayor's own before/after pic at www.thiscityisgoingonadiet.com.). So the city may tip SustainLane's 2008 scales at 49th place once again, but we're excited to see what a motivated mayor can accomplish when he puts his mind to it. Oklahoma City residents enjoy affordable homes on large lots and zero rush-hour traffic, despite the city’s sprawl. But Mayor Cornett says gas prices have encouraged Oklahomans to trim the fat, and for many...more »

48. Tulsa, OK
What’s in a name? Sometimes a history lesson—and particularly when your sports team are called the Drillers and the Oilers. Mayor Kathy Taylor is working hard to shed the city’s sludgy brown image, and her constituents are singing her praises. Tulsa may not be doing anything avant-garde, but it is building a solid sustainability base by adopting plans to increase curbside recycling, plant twenty thousand trees by 2010, and develop a comprehensive plan for energy conservation.more »

Number 1 in:

Air Quality - Honolulu HI

Tap Water Quality - Kansas City, MO

Energy and Climate Change - San Francisco, CA

Solid Waste Diversion - San Francisco, CA

Metro Transit Ridership - NY, NY

Green Economy - Portland, OR

Local Food - Minneapolis, MN

Green Building - Portland, OR

Planning and Land Use - NY, NY