Green Cities

A Greener City will be a place where young people choose to make their homes and raise their families and a desirable location for companies that use quality of life as a yardstick when they decide where to set up their headquarters. –Jerry Abramson, Mayor Louisville Metro.

The "Green Cities Movement" encompasses thousands of urban areas around the world striving to lessen their environmental impacts by reducing waste, expanding recycling, lowering emissions, increasing housing density while expanding open space, and encouraging the development of sustainable local businesses.
In general; a healthy urban city is the city that has improved its urban living environment as a whole through concrete activities such as:

• Co-operation and partnership among authorities, citizens, business life and other stakeholders aimed at developing and improving urban living conditions;
• Implementation of sustainable mobility solutions,
• Introduction and expansion of parks and recreational areas,
• A modern approach to waste management,
• Innovative solutions to noise pollution,
• An integrated approach to urban management ensuring positive long-term effects.

How Green is Your City? Is the first national ranking of 50 US cities evaluating how well cities are doing in implementing sustainable practices based on a comprehensive set of indicators, ranging from air quality to use of renewable energy. This is a must read for city officials and citizens who are interested in how cities are responding to the integrated global challenges of environmental and economic sustainability. — Prof. Susan M. Wachter, Co-director, Institute for Urban Research, and Director, Wharton Geo-spatial Initiative, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

According to the survey “What Makes a City Green?” by Paul McRandle and Sara Smiley Smith; A green City, is a city that fulfills a combination of any of the following criteria:

• Renewable energy supply;
• Extensive wetlands program;
• Green Builder program;
• Smart growth initiative;
• Committed to solar power;
• Wind power;
• Green building standards;
• Excellent public transport;
• Affordable housing;
• Clean air and water;
• Bicycle paths and lanes;
• Building local food production;
• Biomass power generation;
• Excellent public education program;
• Smoking ban; and
• Commitment to reduce greenhouse gases.

Now, Let Us Know
“How Green is Your City?"

For more information, please visit these websites:
Green Cities; http://greencities.com/what-is-a-green-city
The Green Guide; http://www.thegreenguide.com/travel-transportation/top-25-green-cities Earth talk: Green Cities; Earthhttp://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_11844684