Environmental Leader

The 2008 SustainLane U.S. City Rankings have been released, with Portland, San Francisco and Seattle named as top three green cities and Mesa down at the bottom, CSRwire reports.

Based on 16 economic, environmental and green/clean tech categories, the rankings by sustainlane.com 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.

Some of the trends occurring in cities are:

1. More bicycling – There are 12.3 percent more cyclists across the U.S.
2. Trains are making a comeback – Many cities including Phoenix, Charlotte, N.C., Seattle, Portland to name a few are investing in new light rail and other public transit infrastructure investments.
3. Alternative/ renewable energy becoming priorities – Production of wind and solar energy and energy conservation are priorities in Boston, San Francisco, Portland, Houston, Austin and Sacramento.
4. More LEED buildings – Cities like Boston, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, NYC and San Francisco are expanding to every type of built environment, some controversial: parking lots, airports, zoos, museums and others.
5. Forestation of Cities – Chicago, Oakland, Los Angeles, NYC, Tulsa and Atlanta are all increasing urban canopies on streets or as part of green roofs.

The 2008 SustainLane U.S. City Rankings (2006 Rankings in Parentheses):

1) Portland (1)
2) San Francisco (2)
3) Seattle (3)
4) Chicago (4)
5) New York (6)
6) Boston (7)
7) Minneapolis (10)
9) Oakland (5)
10) Baltimore (11)
11) Denver (9)
12) Milwaukee (16)
13) Austin (14)
14) Sacramento (13)
15) Washington (12)
16) Cleveland (28)
17) Honolulu (15)
18) Albuquerque (19)
19) Atlanta (38)
20) Kansas City (18)
21) San Jose (23)
22) Tucson (20)
23) Jacksonville (36)
24) Dallas (24)
25) Omaha (37)
26) San Diego (17)
27) New Orleans (32)
28) Los Angeles (25)
29) Louisville (35)
30) Columbus (50)
31) Detroit (43)
32) Phoenix (22)
33) San Antonio (21)
34) Miami (29)
35) Charlotte (34)
36) Houston (39)
37) Fresno (37)
38) El Paso (31)
39) Fort Worth (46)
40) Nashville (42)
41) Arlington (41)
42) Long Beach (30)
43) Colorado Springs (26)
44) Indianapolis (45)
45) Virginia Beach (48)
46) Memphis (43)
47) Las Vegas (27)
48) Tulsa (40)
49) Oklahoma City (49)
50) Mesa (47)