Today, the word “green” can mean anything from the description of a product to the description of a lifestyle. However, many surveys exist claiming to have ranked the top greenest cities in America despite this term’s lack of definition. So, how can the top “greenest” cities be numerically ranked when the “green” concept is still so sweeping?

With so many lists claiming to have identified the “top” greenest cities in America, it is unclear which is “the” list. But each survey taken usually consists of different measures of greeness. As you might have noticed, there are various shades of green because each person places importance on different issues regarding our environment. These surveys are no different.

One poll may measure the amount of public transportation a city has and not necessarily the actual use of public transportation. So how different are the outcomes when disparate factors are used to measure a common idea? Below is a comparison of three “top” lists. Each has slightly different criteria and, in turn, slightly varying results.

SustainLane

SustainLane used 12 measurements of greenness to decide who was on top in their 2005 poll; they included: transportation, air quality, tap water quality, LEED building, food & agriculture, zoning, land use, solid waste diversion rate, planning, city innovation, energy/climate, and knowledge base.

With San Francisco coming in first and Houston last (number 25) things look about right from a general point of view. But take a closer look and you will see that New York City is seventh! Last time I was there, it seemed more grey than green with smog, cement, and buildings. But this is where ranking gets tricky. New York ranked high because of public transportation use and high water quality. And since we don’t know how each factor is weighted, it is difficult to see why one city is ranked higher than another.

The Green Guide

The Green Guide’s Top 10 list was a little more flexible than SustainLane’s. They felt that “no city has a pristine environmental record,” and their “list acknowledges progress around the country to greener and healthier cities”. As a result, the top 10 cities were not ranked in order but instead were considered of equal standing.

In this quest, The Green Guide looked for good water and air quality, efficient use of resources, renewable energy leadership, accessible and reliable public transportation, and green building practices. They also gave ranking to cities with parks or other green areas. The Green Guide even took into account locally-grown food through farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture groups as part of the criterion. Lastly, affordability was included because they felt it is important that green products and practices are not limited to a certain income bracket. This put San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle among the top ten greenest cities. Oakland, Minneapolis and Chicago were among the bunch as well.

Country Home

Country Home was a little more systematic than The Green Guide with their ranking. The “Best Green Cities in America” were determined by surveying 379 cities in America and then highlighted the first 25. Some criteria included were air and watershed quality, miles of mass transit, and green power to farmers markets, organic producers and groceries. San Francisco was all the way down at number 19 while it took the number one spot for SustainLane. In fact, Oakland, Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle and Portland were missing all together on Country Home’s list. So who is really on top?

Who’s On Top?

Each “top” list looks different and we are still wondering where the greenest place is to live. Likely, the answer will not come from a list generated from imprecise measures of greenness. We should have our own thoughts about what makes a city green and it is important to understand that being green is a balancing act. As New York City has proven, an extensive subway system can cancel out the staggering amounts of air pollution. But what is important to us personally should really be the criterion to consider when deciding which city is the greenest.

A park that enables residents to get exercise and to increase permeability may be more valuable than the highest-quality drinking water. However, some commonalities among the varying criteria described above did prove that there are shared aims such as transportation and air quality. So next time you get upset with your city’s ranking on the latest Top 10 list, remember that the criteria used to make these rankings can be just as imprecise as the word “green” itself.

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