In SustainLane’s 2005 US City Rankings, which benchmarked 25 cities, Houston came in last place. Citizens’ meetings, Internet bulletin boards, and radio talk shows were full of reactions to our analysis. Locals said there were things going on in sustainability and environmental management that we failed to acknowledge.Part of the problem was that the city didn’t have anyone in place to manage or communicate sustainability performance. Since our rankings came out in June 2005, Mayor Bob White (should beBILL) has appointed a Director of Environmental Programming to work across the city’s departments so Houstonians and others can find out what’s happening more easily. The city has also made some positive steps toward a more sustainable future.
The public outcry and reaction to our study demonstrate that the city cares about building a better future for its whole city. Houston ranks #39 out of 50 cities this year. Up-and-coming green projects, a clean tech incubator, and affordable housing all augur a positive direction for the nation’s fourth largest city."
Read more about healthy living and the EPA’s air quality forecast , transit and economic factors affecting Houston.
Some discrepencies: Some bad fact checking... From the mayor's name to the number of farmers markets, all wrong. No doubt that Houston is toward the bottom, but lets get the facts right when making the assessment.
1 comment:
The city of Houston told SustainLane it has three farmers markets and that's what the USDA says also. Not every produce market counts as a certified farmers market--so you should get your accusations right.
Yes, the mayor of Houston is Bill White, of course. We knew that but have a fixation with the bird-- sounds so much more poetic (just kidding--thanks for noting! Correction made)
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