Boyd Cohen, Ph.D. recently came up with a methodology to rank large cities in the U.S. based on how much they are preparing for or trying to counter climate change. He then went on to create and publish a top 10 list of the most “climate-ready” cities. While I think the term “climate-ready” is sort of a mistake, since he focuses more on efforts to stop climate change not adapt to it (which is what I would assume “climate-readiness” would be about), I think the overall idea and methodology looks great. Cohen writes:
I have used proxies and a methodology for ranking the largest cities in the U.S. based on a range of factors including political commitment (as measured by number of commitments the city has made with the U.S. Mayors, Carbon War Room Cities Challenge, Clinton 40, and ICLEI membership), green buildings (LEED buildings per capita), university leadership (AASHE membership/capita), transit access and use (range of metrics on heavy and light rail usage per capita), clean tech investment (venture funds based in city with clean tech investments in 2010) and energy and GHG emissions (from a range of sources)*.
Looks like a good, comprehensive set of factors to analyze when determining a city’s climate friendliness. So, now who came out on top (can you guess)?
10 Most Climate-Ready Climate-Friendly U.S. Cities
10. Chicago 9. San Jose 7. (tie) Philadelphia & New York City 6. San Diego 5. Denver 4. Washington, D.C. 3. Portland, Oregon 2. Seattle 1. San Francisco For more on why Cohen ranked these cities in this way, check out his Triple Pundit piece: Top 10 Climate-Ready Cities in the U.S. Related Posts on EcoLocalizer:
- Top 10 Most Livable Cities,.. Maybe
- What Makes Cities Smart & “10 Smartest Cities on the Planet”
- 10 Most Walkable Cities in World? [SLIDESHOW]
Photo via Stuck in Customs