Study Ranks Portland, Oregon as Most Sustainable City

This years 2008 annual SustainLane City Rankings results came out this week, with Portland, OR sitting pretty at number one.

America’s 50 biggest cities are thinking green, according to the specific rankings by sustainlane.com, (largest online community dedicated to healthy, sustainable living). The rankings reveal which cities are increasingly self-sufficient, prepared for the unexpected and taking steps toward preserving and enhancing their quality of life.

SustainLane’s methodology is pretty impressive and very well thought out, in my opinion. Based on 16 economic, environmental and green/clean tech categories, the SustainLane U.S. City Rankings factor in each city’s ability to maintain healthy air, drinking water, parks and public transit systems, as well as a robust, sustainable local economy with green building, farmers markets, renewable energy and alternative fuels.

“The SustainLane U.S. City Rankings speak, first and foremost, to the local leadership found across America and how mayors, city councils and their offices of sustainability are preparing their cities for resource deficits due to high gas and energy prices, drought, rising food prices and other issues,”

says SustainLane Media CEO James Elsen.

Is Your City Keeping Up? The 2008 City Ranking “Mega-Trends”

1. More Bicycling: There are 12.3% more cyclists across the US year-over-year per U.S. City Rankings data.
2. Revitalizing downtowns: Cities across the country like Columbus, Oakland and Philadelphia are livening up downtowns.
3. Trains making a comeback: New light rail and other public transit infrastructure investments lead to more dense, energy efficient and livable cities.
4. Mainstreaming of green movement: More city governments are getting up to speed on high level sustainability officer appointments, climate change plans, adaptation studies, biodiesel, green building and more. Houston, Atlanta and Columbus are among those on the move.
5. Alternative/Renewable Energy: Wind and solar energy production and energy conservation are priorities in Boston, San Francisco, Portland, Houston, Austin and Sacramento.
6. More Neighborhood/Community Groups: Citizens are joining together to solve problems caused by rising fuel prices (300% price increase over the last five years) and climate change. The result: community gardens, creating livable spaces, anaerobic digesters, etc. are found in Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, San Francisco, Chicago and Detroit.

I think this is a great platform for people to become more motivated in the communities and the changes inspire more action. My hometown is ranking #5. I’m feeling pretty good about the big apple right now!

Top 10 2008 SustainLane U.S. City Rankings. For the complete list, visit sustainlane.com

1. Portland, OR
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Seattle, WA
4. Chicago, IL
5. New York, NY
6. Boston, MA
7. Minneapolis, MN
8. Philadelphia, PA
9. Oakland, CA
10. Baltimore, MD