Pasadena 3rd Greenest Mid-Size City

Yet another wonderful thing about Pasadena.

Pasadena was ranked as one of the 10 greenest mid-size cities by MyLife.com.

It takes a little effort being “green.” From separating recycling and trash, to taking public transportation, to walking to the grocery store instead of driving, it takes a lot of energy to consume less energy. But these ten cities proved that it is worth the extra time to go above and beyond the normal environmental concerns.

Here’s How MyLife.com Ranked Them:

We started with a list of 189 mid-sized cities, which we determined as those ranking 101 through 289 in population based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 estimates. We then applied a ranking of 1 through 189 in each of the following categories:

• Number of Public Parks – Green matters when you’re trying to be green. It’s well known that trees and grass help support clean air and a quality ecosystem, and that’s why a higher number of these is an important criterion in our ranking. Figures attained through Yelp.
• Number of Recycling Centers – The more recycling centers there are, the more opportunity people have to be proactive about trash separation. Numbers found through Yelp.
• Environmentally Conscious Commuters – These people carpool, take public transportation, walk, or work from home. A reduced carbon footprint means a better environment for us all. Numbers found on each city’s Census page.
• Walk Score – In order to be able to use less gas, and in turn help promote clean air and ozone, things have to be within walking distance. Figures from walkscore.com.

Each city was given a score based on their rankings in each category. Scores from each category were combined and divided to find an average. The lower the average number was, the better the city ranked.

1. Alexandria, VA

Close to the nation’s capital, Alexandria did something no other city could: rank in the top 20 in all four categories. Their conscious effort to be more green extends beyond our criteria, as they are active in implementing climate change initiatives, and 23 percent of their citizens are environmentally conscious commuters, good for a ranking of third in that category.

2. Hayward, CA

This city proved to care a lot about the positive impact recycling can have; Hayward ranked number one in the number of centers category. The Buy Back Recycling Center allows citizens to bring in cans, plastic bottles as well as glass bottles for money back. And who minds getting a little extra cash?

3. Pasadena, CA

Its nickname is “the City of Trees,” so it makes perfect sense that Pasadena comes in at number three on this list. They ranked 24th or better in all categories, but did especially well in number of public parks and walk score, coming at 19th and 15th, respectively.

4. Richmond, VA

The second city from Virginia to appear on this list, the state capital Richmond ranked in the top five in two categories. They show that they are doing a lot of little things that add up to a big way of improving their environment. Their greening initiatives include adding bike trails, installing energy efficient LED traffic lights and opening natural gas fueling stations.

5. Fort Lauderdale, FL

A city with palm trees and pristine beaches showed itself to be quite easy to get around without a car; Fort Lauderdale ranked 33rd out of 189 cities in walk score. They also ranked in the top ten in the number of public parks and number of recycling centers categories.

6. Ann Arbor, MI

The city of Wolverines proved that it can be environmentally friendly as well, as Ann Arbor was able to rank in the top 20 in three different categories. They were especially concerned about their carbon footprint, as they ranked sixth in the percentage of their population that are environmentally friendly commuters.

7. Berkeley, CA

Their ranking of 85th in the number of recycling centers category is the only thing that kept them from potentially ranking number one, as Berkeley was third or better in every other category. They were especially able to set themselves apart in the number of public parks, as Fort Lauderdale was the only city in the top ten to rank better.

8. Cambridge, MA

Another city that could’ve ranked higher if it had done better in the number of recycling centers category, Cambridge ranked number one in the percentage of its population that are environmentally conscious commuters, and in the walk score category. Considering it is home to two universities with beautiful campus’s – Harvard and MIT – it coming in at number one in walk score is no surprise.

9. Boulder, CO

Nestled at the base of the Rocky Mountains, it makes sense that the community would want to maintain such a beautiful landscape; Boulder ranked 20th in the number of public parks. They also ranked seventh in the environmentally conscious commuters category, as evidenced by their eGo car sharing program.

10. Tacoma, WA

Rounding out the top ten, this city showed there was good reason for Steve Miller to it include it in a song. Located along the Puget Sound, Tacoma placed in the top ten in the number of public parks and number of recycling centers categories.

The Size of the Carbon Footprint

In studies such as these, there is always one piece of criteria that makes a big difference in how the cities rank. In this case, it was the percentage of a city’s population that are environmentally conscious commuters. Whether they walk, take public transportation or simply work from home, the amount of people in a certain city who do those things showed itself to be of utmost importance. Only one city in the top ten ranked worse than 27th in this category.

 

This article first appeared on MyLifecom by Christian Neeser.