How Green Is My City?
Does the Responsible Municipal Developer and its citizens aspire to be the "Greenest?"
Absolutely and the competition is fierce, as it should be, after all it's a matter of civic pride!
Our blog has showcased the many laudable efforts of local and state governments, citizens and private developers to implement green and sustainable development practices (the preservation of open spaces; control and capture of storm and rain water; energy savings; green electric highways; reclamation of brown fields and the construction of passive homes).
So how does our Emerald City compare to other great cities? Well that depends on the source.
We looked for objectivity and think we found it in Siemens Global's US and Canada Green City Index (which was also cited by Time.com). Siemens' rating was based on some fairly broad comprehensive objectives and methodology.
The objective criteria was to measure and compare the performance of 27 major US and Canadian cities, based on their commitment to reduce their future environmental impacts. The goal of the index was to allow a comparison of cities against their peers and to study innovative projects which other cities may want to follow.
The methodology was based on the work of other Green City index sites (global) and included 31 quantitative and qualitative indicators in nine categories: CO2; energy; land use; buildings; transport; water; waste; air and environmental governance.
Based on the criteria and the fact the study included Canada, we should be proud that Seattle was #4 with a score of 79.10. Our score was heavily based on the fact Seattle had set, and met, many environmental goals over the last 10 years and Seattle ranked #1 in the buildings category because it was among the first cities to mandate LEED-certification for municipal building projects.
The City of Seattle has done a fantastic job of setting goals and obtaining the necessary commitments from its citizens to create green and sustainable projects and communities. Seattle's ranking was no accident but was a result of a great vision and a lot of hard work and expense.
Seattle is a great place to live and work and we can all be proud of this ranking.
