Are you interested in living in an eco-friendly city? The benefits of such cities include clean air, numerous bike paths, and bustling farmer’s markets. Such cities top the list of the Siemens Green City Index. They earn high scores in areas such as CO2 emissions, water and waste management, and several environmentally-friendly types of transport. It would be wrong to assume that the highly ranked cities all have the same features. While they’re generally eco-friendly, the features that make them as such vary significantly. In other words, different cities have varying sustainable strengths. Here are some of the cities that top the list.
1. Curitiba, Brazil
Interestingly, this is the only South American city that scored above the median green rankings. Curitiba is located in the southern region of Brazil. It’s been a world leader in eco-friendliness. The city built one of the world’s first large-scale rapid-transit bus system, and then in the 1980s created a world-class recycling program. Today, the southern Brazilian city continues to be environmentally progressive. In fact, it has one of the top air qualities on the continent. One of the top eco-friendly features of Curitiba is the farmers’ markets that rotate throughout the city. This allows residents to enjoy organic produce.
2. Vancouver, British Columbia
Based on its size, Vancouver scored quite well in terms of its air quality and air quality. That is due in part to the city’s focus on encouraging green energy, and its utilization of hydropower. The city has promised to lower emissions by one-third by the year 2020. In fact, there’s been a green advocacy in the city since the 1960s. Today, Vancouver is recognized throughout the world as Greenpeace’s birthplace. An interesting location is Granville Island, a peninsula where residents visit huge art studios and public markets. Other features of eco-friendly neighborhoods include bike routes.
3. Copenhagen, Denmark
Europe is represented well in the list of eco-friendly cities. Besides Copenhagen, other top-notched Scandinavian cities include Stockholm and Oslo. However, Copenhagen often ranks as the greenest city in Europe. Nearly all of the residents live 350 or fewer meters from public transportation. Also, over half commute by bicycle frequently. The result is that Copenhagen’s CO2 emissions are quite low in relation to its size. Biking is extremely popular in districts located in the west and northwest parts of the city. They contain paths for bikers to enjoy safe a commute while enjoying a lovely view of the city.
Other cities topping the list of the most eco-friendly include San Francisco, and Cape Town. While none of the cities have a perfect eco-friendly record, for decades they’ve implemented policies and laws to help to maximize their status as truly green cities. Arguably the most important factor in determining how eco-friendly a particular city is, is its level of carbon emissions. These emissions are the cause of the Greenhouse Effect, and result in the deterioration of the ozone layer. Such eco-friendly cities also share other features, such as clean water and allowing development and nature to coexist effectively.