Skip to Navigation Skip to Content

The 15 Most Sustainable Cities In The US

on May 7, 2021 at 11:39 am under , , , ,
Photo: ROCKET Homes

Take a look at the 15 most sustainable cities that are leading the effort to preserve our planet for generations to come.

Finding The Most Sustainable Cities In The US

“Given Portland, Oregon’s ecologically sensitive policies, it does not surprise us that beautiful city ranked #1 on the U.S. Sustainable Cities List. How interesting that the majority of these cities were also early adaptors for greenroof implementation and have continued to be leaders in implementation. Kudos to all and let’s keep up the good work!”
Linda S. Velazquez
ASLA, LEED AP, GRP

The researchers at BestPlaces.net used the following metrics to determine the rankings for the most sustainable cities in the U.S.:

  • Percent of state power used from renewable sources
  • Square feet of LEED buildings per capita
  • Square feet of green space per capita
  • Percent of commuters who use energy-efficient transportation
  • Average number of vehicles per household
  • Electric vehicles per capita
  • State composting laws
  • State beverage container deposit laws
  • Battery recycling legislation and state ranking of batteries recycled per capita

1. Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city revered for its eco-consciousness. It is in the top 1% of the country for the power they generate from renewable sources. One of their largest energy efficiency projects to date has been converting 45,000 streetlights to use LED technology. Now, the city’s streetlights and traffic signals use 66% less energy than they did back in 2006, and Portland saves $1.5 million annually. Through its recycling and composting efforts, Portland recovers 81% of all waste produced by city operations and is on track to recover up to 90% by the year 2030.

For more information about greening Portland, checkout the Green Roof info Think-tank (GRiT). GRiT is a network of businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations, researchers and community members joining together to grow the knowledge and use of green roofs in the Pacific Northwest.


Read more: The 15 Most Sustainable Cities In The US

Advertisement


Discussion

2 replies to "The 15 Most Sustainable Cities In The US"

Leave a Reply

Advertisement