Popular Science just published a study naming the Top 50 Greenest Cities in the United States .
Congratulations Austin Texas; that is an accomplishment to be very proud of. I think Texans should all be very proud because of the top 50 Greenest Cities, Texas has four, including Austin at #10, Fort Worth at #15, Amarillo at #34 and Laredo at #39.
Studies like this that put Texas in such a positive light will help keep the real estate market strong through 2008 and beyond. In talking with people every day I hear more and more from people the importance of Green Living in their lives.
The criteria Popular Science used for this study came from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Green Guide put out by the National Geographic Society which collects government statistics for all American Cities with a population of over 100,000 people in over 30 categories.
I did a quick search from the website infoplease.com and I was able to find that in 2005 there was an estimated 253 U.S. Cities with a population of over 100,000.
For this study Popular Science took the raw data and statistics they had and came up with four categories. Two of the categories, Electricity and Transportation were scored on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. The other two categories Green Living and Recycling were scored on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best. So the best score possible with the four combined categories is 30.
Dennis Pease is a guest Blogger on Eric’s Austin , TX real estate Blog. Dennis specializes in Eugene Oregon real estate and Florence Oregon real estate . We have a lot in common with our Texas friends. Oregon only has three cities with a population over 100,000. Portland Oregon ranked #1 in this study with the highest score of 23.1 out of a possible 30, and my home area of Eugene Oregon ranked #5. Green Living is very important to most Oregonians as you can see from this study. See the 50 Greenest Cities study here for complete details and scores.
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Interesting read Eric. It looks like Austin is on the move in many ways. According to a recent article I read on Forbes.com, Austin was ranked as the 3rd fastest growing city in the United States. Green and Fast. That can’t be a bad thing.
I live in Dallas, TX. My friend moved down to Austin about a month ago after living in Dallas for several years and is in love with it. I am positive he will never come back. I am planning a trip down there to hang out in the next month and cant wait. Seeing this post gets me even more excited. Thanks.
Congrats, Usually people do not think of Texas as being green in that way. Stereo type to be sure, just like with New Jersey, most people have a totally different view of it than is the reality.
Yep, I know this was not written by Dennis Pease. Just was commenting on peoples perceptions about what a state is like, compaired to the reality.
James, it was in fact written by me. It wouldn’t say it was written by me if it wasn’t.
Eric was kind enough to allow me as a guest author. This was something that Texas had in common with Oregon and I thought it was great information since this is very much on the minds of many people today.
As Holly mentioned, Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in America, yet they are also concerned with Green Living. More cities need to follow suit.
Well done Austin! It is great to see cities taking steps to improve their environmental sustainability in order to reduce effects on the planet. If only more would take a leaf out of their book! From the pictures I have seen on this site it sure does look like a wonderful place to live.
hi, could someone please adjust this post to not email dpease@gmail.com whenever anyone replies? that’s me, not Dennis Pease, and I’m sure he’d be much more interested in getting followups than I.
Thank you
Dave
Austin is great, especially for those of us with a social bent. Has anyone seen this site? Very cool for Austin…www.greehomelove.com/austin
I think it is great that Austin rated so high on this list and that it was not the sole representative for Texas. Having grown up in Washington state and having lived just 8 miles North of Portland, Oregon I to place alot of importance on living in a manor that is sustainable. After reading this post it made me remember that I now make residence in Texas’s worst city for green living, Houston. Maybe some of those Austinites can make their way over here and we can clean up the city a bit.
@Eric – Did I read it correctly that you originate from the Northwest as well?
Hey James –
I’m actually from the great state of Oklahoma.
I like visiting, but I’m glad I live in Austin.