March 24, 2008

Forbes issued its annual list of cleanest cities and metro areas March 17, noting the fortune of cities with weather patterns that help disperse pollution. The study highlights the considerable investments being made by these leading cities to keep clean, even while their populations have grown significantly.

Miami ranked in first place nationally and was among four Florida cities in the nation’s top ten ranked cities, including Jacksonville (third), Orlando (fourth) and Tampa'st. Petersburg (eighth). Seattle placed second overall with Portland (OR) fifth. Portland is ten years into a 14-year, $2 billion clean-up of the Willamette River. In addition, the city has made substantial additional investments in light rail and sidewalks and is now using biofuels in its bus fleet; all of which have reduced regional auto emissions and pollution considerably. Dan Saltzman of the Portland city council notes, “The investments we’ve made on land use and transportation over the past two decades are paying off.” The report places San Francisco (sixth), Oklahoma City, (seventh) Minneapolis'st. Paul (ninth) and San Jose'sunnyvale (tenth).

Given the weight attached to air quality by urban area residents in relation to health, particular attention was paid to the issue in the study. To determine these cleanest major cities, and using data from the American Lung Association, Forbes measured for air pollution and ozone levels among all 49 U.S. metro areas with populations exceeding one million. They additionally weighed water quality and per-capita spending on Superfund site cleanup and soliwaste management.

All figures were based on Metropolitan Statistical Areas with the exception of waste-management spending, which was based exclusively on city data. Also factored in were water cleanliness rankings based on EPA violations and reports of bacteria, chlorine byproducts and chemicals or metals such as arsenic, copper and lead in the drinking water.

Notably, nine of the ten cleanest cities experienced significant population growth between 2000 and 2006. Jacksonville grew its population by eight percent and Miami 11.5 percent since the start of the decade, indicating that sustainability challenges can be met with the right public investments.

In recent years, Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection has launched programs to provide power plants emissions-reducing equipment and has directed its budget towards fighting both direct discharges into public waterways and indirect spillage through stormwater and drain runoff. Tampa Electric Co. has gone beyond federal and state emissions requirements.