Issues > March/April 2005 (#107) > The Top 10 Green Cities in the U.S.: 2005

The Top 10 Green Cities in the U.S.: 2005

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Oakland, CA

Oakland (pop 399,484) is more affordable than San Francisco, its Bay Area neighbor, and benefits from San Francisco's transport system, with 20 percent of Oakland residents commuting by bike or public transport. Oakland devotes 11 percent of city land to parks, and shares in Bay Area initiatives for renewable energy. Solar energy use has been expedited by an Oakland initiative that allows solar production facilities to waive design review requirements for installation, which has sped up solar energy generation use by the city. Oakland's mayor has also committed the city to installing 5 megawatts of solar power. By reducing reliance on non-renewable energy, this should help mitigate the short-term (within a 24 hour period) small particle pollution problem it shares with San Francisco.

Portland, OR

In 1974, Portland (pop 529,121) began to tear down a six-lane expressway to replace it with Tom McCall Waterfront Park, one of many urban parks that make up almost 16 percent of the city. Portland's integrated public transit system, its status as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country, and its ranking in the top third of affordable cities by the National Association of Homebuilders put it on our Green Guide list. Portland scores extra points by leading the nation in green-building practices: It has the most building projects registered for LEED-certification, in total number 52 and per capita. In 2002, Portland became the first city to gain approval from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to implement their own green building ratings system "Portland LEED", in which local codes were tailored to meet or exceed the USGBC's standards. When it comes to escapes, skiing on Mt. Hood is popular, as are canoeing and hiking along the Columbia and Hood rivers. And right in the city itself, Forest Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the country, provides 74 miles of hiking, running and biking trails.

San Francisco, CA

The most expensive city on the list, San Francisco (pop 776,733), has enacted living wage legislation that includes a city minimum wage of $8.50, and a living wage of $10 per hour. San Francisco ranks just behind New York in public transit ridership, with nearly half of San Franciscans commuting daily with BART, biking, and walking. Over 17 percent of city land is given to parks and nature preserves. NRDC gave it a good rating for water source protection. The city is also a leader in green building, with 27 building projects registerd for LEED-certification. Perhaps most impressive of all, San Francisco's voters passed two initiatives in 2001 that allow the city to sell $100 million in revenue bonds to support renewable energy. This will hopefully improve the ranking San Francisco shares with Oakland as fifteenth among the ALA's top 25 metropolitan areas most polluted by short-term small particle (PM2.5) pollution. There's hiking, bird-watching and biking in the Golden Gate National Recreation area and Mount Tamalpais just across the Bay, and surfing in the Pacific.

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