The greenest cities in North America 2010

The statistic gives an index of the greenest cities in North America. With a score of 72.5 out of 100, Los Angeles was ranked seventh.

Green cities index in North America

Based on a Siemens report, San Francisco has been listed as one of the greenest cities in North America, receiving a score of 83.8 out of a possible 100 in 2010. Cities that are wealthier tend to be able to afford more productive projects and invest more resources into developing and monitoring environmental policies. Among Canadian cities, Vancouver was given a score of 81.3 and was considered relatively low-income at the time. In fact, in North America income was found to be a lesser influence on environmental policy than was the case in European and Asian cities.

Vancouver also received the best ranking for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and air quality in the same year. The city had relatively low CO2 emissions per capita, partially because it primarily produces energy from hydropower sources. Its low emissions also contribute to a low rate of particulate matter emissions. To reduce the city’s pollution, Vancouver was actively promoting air quality improvement policies which also ensured that the poor are not disproportionately affected by pollution.

As for the United States, Ohio was considered one of the most polluted states in 2010, emitting 58.66 million pounds of industrial air pollution. Factors such as willingness to prioritize the environment can affect a city’s ability to contribute to environmental protection. In 2015, about 49 percent of people in the United States believed that the environment should be prioritized over the development of energy supplies.

Index of the greenest cities in Canada and the U.S. in 2010*

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Release date

2011

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Region

North America

Survey time period

2010

Supplementary notes

* Based on a scale of zero to 100.
According to the source, the index measures the environmental performance of 27 major cities in the U.S. and Canada. It is a composite of 31 indicators (CO2 emissions per unit of GDP, CO2 emissions per person, CO2 reduction strategy, electricity consumption per unit of GDP, electricity consumption per person, clean and efficient energy policies, green spaces, population density, green land use policies, urban sprawl, number of LEED-certified buildings, energy efficient standards, energy efficient building incentives, share of workers travelling by public transit, bicycle, or foot, public transport supply, average commute time from residence to work, green transport promotion, congestion reduction policies, water consumption per capita, water system leakages, water quality policy, stormwater management policy, percent of municipal solid waste recycled, waste reduction policies, nitrogen oxides emissions, sulphur dioxide emissions, PM10 emissions, clean air policy, green action plan, green management, public participation in green policy), based on nine categories (CO2, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality, environmental governance). Each indicator was aggregated according to an assigned weighting. The category scores were then rebased on a scale of zero to 100. Moreover, each of the nine category scores were assigned an equal weighting (multiplied by 11.1 percent) and summed for a final score on a scale of zero to 100.

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