Your home or family may be going green, but have you ever thought about your city? If you live near a major metropolitan area, chances are there are many initiatives taking place to change the face of your city. Or are they? Public parks and a good subway system may seem like a great way to green major cities, but there are many more components needed to create a truly “sustainable” metropolis.

Each year, the SustainLane team puts out the SustainLane US City Rankings** - “extensive coverage on the greening of the 50 most-populous cities” in America. The rankings cover 16 facets** of urban sustainability, including water supply quality, public transportation, air quality, green buildings, land use, housing affordability and traffic, among others.

On to the results! There are some no-brainers (not surprisingly, Portland, Oregon is the greenest city), while some might leave you blinking in wonder (really, New York as # 5?). It’s also amazing to see cities that have made great strides – for example, Atlanta, GA was ranked 38th last year, but through its astonishing 140+ LEED certified buildings going up plus a twenty year park overhaul plan, has caused it to jump to #18! Then there are the “trailing” cities, including Arlington, TX and Las Vegas, NV, that need, ahem, a lot of work.

SustainLane’s ranking system has been in place since 2005 and is completely peer reviewed and researched. Aside from bringing this valuable eco-information to the general population, I think cities have been taking notice and have started looking to better the local environment in many ways. If you’re in the market for local resources, check out SustainLane’s local directory** of everything from yoga studios to restaurants to sustainable clothing stores. Hey, if your city isn’t green enough, at least you and your home can be!

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.