subject: Top 10 Green Cities Worth Moving To [print this page] Perhaps not surprisingly, two of the top 10 green cities in the United States are located in Arizona. San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and even Los Angeles are now considered green cities, because of the aggressive means used in the past few years to institute green policies.
What are the Top 10 Green Cities in the United States?
The presence of Manhattan may be surprising to some, but since 80% of Manhattan uses public transportation over cars, it's actually not as polluted as you might think. And with Central Park as a shining jewel in the middle of the city, it can be an attractive place to live.
But it, and the cities in Arizona, are also pricey places to live.
While Honolulu may be a great place to visit on vacation, you may not have to move there to take advantage of its position as the number 5 green city in the United States.
El Paso, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Boise, Idaho; Portland, Oregon and Honolulu, Hawaii round out the list of the top 10.
How about El Paso? El Paso has a lot of open space (as opposed to the green space that other cities, with more rainfall, have), with lots of parks and unspoiled desert.
Seattle is generating a sustainable network of healthy forested park lands throughout the city (under a program called Green Seattle.) This is actually an urgent program, as these forested park lands are actually considered to be sick and the old trees are dying, and new invasive species have choked out the seedlings that would have replaced their parents. Green Seattle is attempting to restore the health of these forests.
Portland, Oregon is working hard to build a sustainable city by instituting a variety of programs. For example, there's incentives to build eco-roofs on buildings and homes. Homeowners can receive discounts on their storm water management charges if they manage their storm water properly. There are 32 community gardens and they're encouraging the building of solar-powered homes and buildings.
Boise, Idaho is so committed to being green that it hosts a Green Expo every year. It is working hard to keep the planet green for our animal friends as well. The World Center for Birds of Prey is located just outside the city limits. They are also working to bring back the endangered Peregrine Falcon. The center is also currently breeding the very rare Arizona condor.
If moving is not an option, find out what your city is doing to go green and volunteer to help if you can. There are many more cities that need the help!
