The Greenest Cities in North America

With the celebration of holidays such as Earth Day, and new passed on and approved legislation of different areas that range from mining to manufacturing, initiatives towards a greener earth have become a major public and private topic worldwide.

The United States of America and Canada have been recognized as leaders in the green movement, with social and political campaigns that look for the improvement and use of renewable energy and other techniques to ensure the minimum environmental damage possible; and to try to prevent the occurrence of more damage in the hope of reducing already damaged areas like climate change and pollution. The index of the greenest cities in Canada and the US in 2010, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, helps explain which cities in these countries are leaders in such green initiatives, and the reasons why.

10. Minneapolis

Though it is among the smallest of the major cities in the US, Minneapolis’ burgeoning manufacturing industry and high average income makes it notable in terms of its ability to handle increasing environmental concerns. The city was one of the first in the US to make environmental sustainability a top priority, including it as part of overall city planning. The results of this decision are clear: Minneapolis has the lowest level of electricity consumption relative to its GDP among those included in the index, having installed the largest urban solar array in the entirety of the Midwest and converted much of its dependence on coal into a reliance on cleaner natural gases.

9. Toronto

Is considered one of the greenest cities in Canada; it was the first city to endorse a plan to enlarge the Greenbelt within its borders, and this is just one of the many green improvements this city has made and plans to for the future. Among the list we can count the deep lake water-cooling, the capture of methane gas from landfills, equipping ice rinks, switching the skyscrapers’ lights off at night to let the migratory birds arrive where they should be. For future projects Toronto hopefully will have offshore wind turbines working and producing energy into the power grid.

8. Washington DC

The city consulted and reached out to more than 6,000 people in order to make itself not only a major sustainable city in America, but also the healthiest place to live in. The city that already holds the biggest quantity of green-conscious buildings approved laws to offer credits for the construction of more of them, has started to plant trees and promote the usage of bikes, and has made a commitment to battle climate change.

7. Los Angeles

The number four greenest city and going up very soon. It has so many future projects poising it to become the number one greenest city in the entire United States. Basing our research in the 2013 US Department of Energy Annual Survey, the city's programs for reduction reduced 90.000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Los Angeles was the one city that started incorporating fuel cell vehicles in its everyday life. Los Angeles wants to be the Great Green City in America, and if it keeps going like this, it's going to accomplish it very soon.

6. Boston

Being the first city in the United States of America to actually oblige the building of green buildings under its requirements to meet certification standards, it falls nicely in our fifth spot on this index, with its initiative to teach its inhabitants about the different ways of a more environment friendly lifestyle it came with the proposition to use hybrid cars as transportation, the installation of solar panels, the reuse of water and trash to energy.

5. Denver

This city's energy policies are very neat and well-organized and their authority performance makes a big difference among many others. They have an extended program that is entitled to work with businesses and corporations and help them to plan their future looking not only through the enterprise glass, but also through the green glass, through the glass that will permit the city to evolve. For the future to be clear it has to be green, and Denver knows this and it is working very hard to get it.

4. Seattle

More than 2,000 trees were planted in the gardens of the residents of this city, gardens because they all live so close to them it is like going out to your backyard, with a recycling program of waste that has tripled in the last year alone and a whopping 140% green commercial building, it is major contributions to a green initiative. Its office of Sustainability and Environment supplies the most innovative policies and programs that have resulted efficiently.

3. New York City

Despite being the most populous city in the US, New York City has also managed to rank among the greenest cities in the country due to a variety of government and citizen initiatives. Much of its large population commutes to work using green methods of transportation, such as bicycles, public transport, or simply walking. The city’s successes in transport are also due to government policies, such as the rapid installation of bicycle lanes and expansion of pedestrian areas. The city has also committed itself to creating green spaces, having launched the Million Trees Program in 2007 with the goal of planting 1 million trees by 2017-this plan is already ahead of schedule.

2. Vancouver

Vancouver is right now on the ninth spot talking about greenest cities around the globe, but we are sure that its city action plan strategy for getting to the number one at the top of the list in city sustainability will keep working until they achieve the desired number one of the list. Vancouver is working right now with residents, council, organizations, industries and all ranks of government to implement this plan. Keep the strong local economy working, making inclusive communities and working on every target one by one are just a few of the goals they have in mind for the years to come.

1. San Francisco

San Francisco single-handedly demonstrated that you can begin with huge landfills with over 44,000 tons of waste and manage to practically eliminate them entirely. The city converted landfill waste through recycling programs and composting, which is a goal for both its economy and environment. Furthermore, the city improved its use of energy, land use, green buildings and transportation, while also drastically lowering its emissions of carbon monoxide.