An Analysis of U.S. Multi-Family Housing, Eco-Certifications, & Walkability

Abstract:

This paper examines the persistence of differentiated pricing in the multi-family housing related to eco-certification. In examining a sample of market rents for non-specialty, multi-family properties both across the U.S., as well as those areas that enjoy the highest concentrations of LEED certified apartments, Jeremy Gabe, Karen McGrath, Spenser Robinson and Andrew Sanderford find rental premiums of 10.2% and 14.7%, respectively for those properties with LEED certification. The addition of the continuous Walk Score, to control for variations in urban form, results in premiums of 7.4% and 9.6%, respectively. These findings are directionally consistent with those found in earlier studies, and demonstrate a persistence in rental premiums for certified properties over time, and with increased LEED adoption.

https://tinyurl.com/2o4r3tp2

by Jeremy Gabe,Karen McGrath,Spenser Robinson &Andrew Sanderford

Article: 2162515; Published online: 17 Jan 2023

https://doi.org/10.1080/19498276.2022.2162515

Better Cities, Better Growth: Continuation of Sprawling Urbanization Will Cost India $330 Billion to $1.8 Trillion, up to 6.3% of GDP Per Year by 2050

Better, smarter urban growth could be an economic opportunity for India worth up to 6% of GDP by 2050, according to the latest research from the New Climate Economy.

Continuing the current poorly planned, sprawling, unconnected pattern of urbanisation could impose an estimated cost of between US$330 billion and US$1.8 trillion by mid-century. At the household level, this equates to more than 20% of average household incomes.

The new paper also undertakes a first-of-its-kind analysis drawing on satellite data of night-time lights to compare cities’ urban form with their economic growth.

It finds that Indian cities that were more compact in 2002 experienced faster economic growth from 2002-2012. On average across a sample of 479 Indian cities, a 10% increase in a city’s dispersion index in 2002 was associated with a 0.4-0.9% point decrease in economic growth over the subsequent period.

There are a number of negative impacts or costs associated with India’s current urbanization model, ranging from increased costs of providing public infrastructure and services, transportation costs, traffic casualties, traffic congestion, air pollution, and health risks, among other considerations.

• The costs of providing public infrastructure and services are likely to be as much as 30% higher in more sprawled, automobile-dependent neighbourhoods compared with more compact, connected locations.

• 14 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India, and outdoor air pollution in Indian cities is estimated to cause around 1.1 million premature deaths per year. India also has the largest number of total traffic deaths of any country: 137,572 were officially reported in 2013.

In India, urban sprawl is different than in other countries; it is best understood as a low density of built-up floor space per unit of land area, combined with severe overcrowding per unit of built-up area. For example, Mumbai homes have only about 30 square feet per person, less than a quarter of the comparable availability in urban China. Countering urban sprawl in India will require a greater emphasis on “appropriate” or “good” density combined with adequate provision of accessible and well-connected infrastructure and services.

http://devpolicy.org/sustainable-urbanisation-sustainable-urban-health-20130110/urban-sprawl-india/

The report recommends reforms and progress in three key areas to help deliver social and economic benefits for urban India.

1. Reform of land regulations to manage urban expansion to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of land use.

1. Expansion of sustainable urban infrastructure to encourage appropriately compact, connected, and coordinated cities.

1. Reform to strengthen urban local government, accountability, and financing....

Urban sprawl costs the American economy more than $1 trillion annually. Smart growth policies may be the answer

The rapid urbanization of populations across the world has led to the growth of urban sprawl, which has in turn had many negative social and economic impacts. In new research in partnership with LSE Cities, Todd Litman, investigates the problems of urban sprawl and explores potential solutions. He finds that this sprawl costs the American economy more than $1 trillion every year, and argues that this may be reduced by encouraging market-based reforms to encourage smart growth strategies.

Humanity is currently engaged in a unique and important event: global urbanization. Between 1950 and 2050 the human population will approximately quadruple and shift from 80 percent rural to nearly 80 percent urban. Most of this growth is occurring in developing countries. The United Nations projects there will be approximately 2.2 billion new urban residents in developing countries between 2015 and 2050. How these cities grow has huge economic, social and environmental impacts. With proper policies we can leave a legacy of truly sustainable development for future generations.

A new report, Analysis of Public Policies that Unintentionally Encourage and Subsidize Sprawl, written by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, in partnership with LSE (London School of Economics) Cities Program, for the New Climate Economy, provides practical guidance for creating cities that are healthy, wealthy and wise, that is, attractive and healthy places to live, economically successful, socially vibrant and equitable. It analyzes the costs and benefits of various development patterns and discusses ways to optimize urban expansion, densities, housing mix, and transportation policies for various types of cities.

Sprawl refers to dispersed, automobile-oriented, urban fringe development, and is the opposite of “smart growth.” These differ in many ways, as summarized in Table 1.

Sprawl has two primary impacts: it increases per capita land consumption, which displaces other land uses, and it increases the distances between activities, which increases per capita infrastructure requirements and the distances service providers, people and businesses must travel to reach destinations. These primary impacts have various economic costs including reduced agricultural productivity, environmental degradation, increased costs of providing utilities and government services, reduced accessibility and economic opportunity for non-drivers, and increased transport costs including vehicle expenses, travel time, congestion delays, accidents and pollution emissions.

...

Previous studies have quantified and monetized (measured in monetary units) many of these impacts, but ours is the most comprehensive effort to date to integrate them all into one analysis framework. We divided U.S. cities into quintiles (fifths), from smartest growth to most sprawled, and then estimated the additional costs of more sprawled development. For example, our analysis indicates that by increasing the distances between homes, businesses, services and jobs, sprawl raises the cost of providing infrastructure and public services by 10-40 percent. Using real world data about these costs, we calculate that the most sprawled quintile cities spend on average $750 annually per capita on public infrastructure, 50 percent more than the $500 in the smartest growth quintile cities. Similarly, sprawl typically increases per capita automobile ownership and use by 20-50 percent, and reduces walking, cycling and public transit use by 40-80 percent, compared with smart growth communities. The increased automobile travel increases direct transportation costs to users, such as vehicle and fuel expenditures, and external costs, such as the costs of building and maintaining roads and parking facilities, congestion, accident risk and pollution emissions. Figure 3 illustrates estimates of these costs.

Figure 3 – Estimated urban automobile costs

Smart growth communities tend to have far lower traffic fatality rates than sprawled communities, providing huge savings and benefits. By increasing walking, smart growth also tends to increase public fitness and health, which significantly reduces healthcare costs associated with physical inactivity and obesity.

Toward Comprehensive and Multi-Modal Performance Evaluation

http://www.planetizen.com/node/59466

...

The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistic’s recently released National Transportation Statistics Report.... It is old-school, reflecting the assumption that our primary transportation problem is congestion delay. Of the nine tables in the Physical Performance section, four reflect air travel cancellations and delays, one reflects air travel baggage losses, and four are based on the Texas Transportation Institute’s congestion cost estimates.

What’s wrong with the BTS’s current approach? First, assumes that there are only two important modes of personal travel (commercial air and motor vehicle), that our main goal is to travel faster, and our main problem is that we are too often delayed. There is no consideration of other modes, goals or performance indicators such as availability, comfort and affordability. All congestion cost estimates are based on the Texas Transportation Institute’s calculations, without mentioning their weaknesses and biases, as discussed in a previous column, Toward More Comprehensive Understanding of Traffic Congestion.

Congestion is actually a modest cost overall. For example, the TTI’s most recent Urban Mobility Report estimates that in 2010 U.S. congestion caused 4.8 billion person-hours of delay and 1.9 billion gallons of additional fuel consumption, valued at $101 billion, this only averages 15.5 hours, 6.2 gallons and $327 per capita. The TTI methodology uses an unrealistic freeflow baseline speed (it assumes that all roads should always have level-of-service A; most economists argue that level-of-service C or D is actually more optimal under urban-peak conditions) and high travel time unit costs (they assume that congestion delay is worth $16.30/hr, although in practice, few motorists are willing to pay that much for incremental time savings), which bias their estimates upward. Applying more realistic analysis would reduce estimated congestion cost to approximately $110 per capita. This compares with about $4,000 in vehicle costs, $1,500 in crash damages, more than $1,000 in vehicle parking costs, $400 in roadway costs and $357 in environmental costs per capita.

Automobile dependency and sprawl tend to increase transport costs far more than traffic congestion, as discussed in Joe Cortright's report, Driven Apart: How Sprawl is Lengthening Our Commutes and Why Misleading Mobility Measures are Making Things Worse. For example, the TTI indicates that in 2010 Washington D.C. automobile commuters experience 74 average annual hours of congestion delay, but since only 43% of commuter in that region drive, this averages just 32 hours per commuter overall. In contrast, Houston automobile commuters experience 57 annual hours of delay, but since that region has a 88% auto mode share this averages 50 hours per commuter overall, much higher than Washington D.C. Cities with high quality public transit, such as New York, Boston and San Francisco, rate much better when congestion is measured per commuter rather than automobile commuter due to their low auto mode shares.

The TTI estimates that in the largest U.S. cities congestion causes 34 annual hours of delay and 16.5 gallons of additional fuel consumed per commuter. In contrast, according to analysis described in my report, Smart Congestion Relief, residents of automobile-dependent regions, who average more than 30 daily miles of vehicle travel, spend an estimated 104 additional hours and 183 additional gallons of fuel compared with more compact, multi-modal regions where residents average fewer than 20 daily vehicle-miles. This suggests that policies which stimulate sprawl impose more than three times the total cost as traffic congestion.

Fortunately, more comprehensive and multi-modal evaluation tools are now available for evaluating transportation system performance. For example, the Florida Department of Transportation’s new report, Expanded Transportation Performance Measures to Supplement Level of Service (LOS) for Growth Management and Transportation Impact Analysis critically evaluates current transport system performance indicators such as Roadway Level of Service (LOS) and identifies and evaluates more multi-dimensional and multi-modal transport system performance indicators. The report summarizes various examples from Florida cities that apply multi-modal transport system performance evaluation, and provides guidance for selecting and applying them in a particular situation.

Another approach is the National Association of Regional Council’s Livability Literature Review: A Synthesis Of Current Practice recently published by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It examines ways to define and evaluate livability and sustainability, and how they relate to various current planning concepts including smart growth, complete streets, lifelong communities, safe routes to schools, context sensitive solutions/design, new urbanism, transit-oriented development and placemaking. It provides a foundation for applying more comprehensive community planning, including more accessible development and multi-modal transport planning.

The New York City Department of Transportation’s very attractive report, Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets discusses ways to evaluate urban street performance. It describes various urban street planning goals, strategies (specific ways to achieve goals) and metrics (specific ways to measure progress toward goals)

...

I have a few specific concerns about these documents. The Florida and NYC reports refer to sustainability, livability and accessibility without clearly defining the terms. Some goals and objectives (strategies) overlap. For example, some indicator sets tend to overweigh congestion impacts by including congestion reduction, improved freight transport and improved travel reliability objectives, while others overweigh energy consumption impacts by including energy conservation, local emission reductions, global emission reductions, and environmental quality. It is important to recognize how such double-counting can bias evaluation results.

Another concern is the poor way these indicators address social objectives such as affordability, basic mobility for non-drivers, and improved public health. These are all implied as goals, but I don’t think they are as well articulated or measured as economic objectives (congestion reduction, improved freight transport, agency cost efficiency, etc.) and environmental objectives (energy conservation, emission reductions, habitat preservation, etc.). This area needs more research and guidance.

...

Todd Litman's Blog at Planetizen http://www.planetizen.com/blog/2394

November 27, 2012

FOR FULL POST GO TO: http://www.planetizen.com/node/59466

In Organic-Hungry Hong Kong, Corn as High as an Elevator’s Climb

http://tinyurl.com/8k65uhf

Kimbo Chan knows all about the food scandals in China: the formaldehyde that is sometimes sprayed on Chinese cabbages, the melamine in the milk and the imitation soy sauce made from hair clippings. That is why he is growing vegetables on a rooftop high above the crowded streets of Hong Kong.

“Some mainland Chinese farms even buy industrial chemicals to use on their crops,” Mr. Chan said. “Chemicals not meant for agricultural uses at all.” 

As millions of Hong Kong consumers grow increasingly worried about the purity and safety of the fruits, vegetables, meats and processed foods coming in from mainland China, more of them are striking out on their own by tending tiny plots on rooftops, on balconies and in far-flung, untouched corners of highly urbanized Hong Kong. 

...

Organic food stores are opening across the city, and there is growing demand in the markets for organic produce despite its higher prices. There are about 100 certified organic farms in Hong Kong. Seven years ago, there were none.

There is no official count of rooftop farms in Hong Kong, but they are clearly part of an international trend. New York has many commercialized rooftop farms established by companies like Gotham Greens, Bright Farms and Brooklyn Grange. In Berlin, an industrial-size rooftop vegetable and fish farm is in the pipeline. In Tokyo, a farm called Pasona O2 takes urban farming a step further: Vegetables are grown not only on roofs, but also in what was an underground bank vault.

With 7.1 million people in one of the most densely populated cities on earth, Hong Kong has little farmland and almost no agricultural sector. The territory imports more than 90 percent of its food. Hong Kong is hooked on vegetables, and 92 percent of its supply comes from mainland China.

... 

Land is one of Hong Kong’s problems, of course. There is not very much of it, and only 1.6 percent is farmed....

A government proposal to develop the New Territories threatens to remove about 242 acres of farmland, according to a joint statement issued by green groups. This accounts for about 13 percent of Hong Kong’s active farmland, they said.

Some urban farmers find the effort worth it. It cost Mr. Lam about 500,000 Hong Kong dollars, or roughly $65,000, to set up City Farm, including all farming materials, an office, piping and wiring. And the whole operation can be easily moved. 

U.S. Bicyclists Save $4.6 Billion Per Year by Riding, Instead of Driving

http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/downloads/BikeMonth_Factsheet_0512.pdf

New data released on May 12, 2012 by the League of American Bicyclists, Sierra Club, and National Council of La Raza (NCLR) highlights the ... economic benefits of bicycling and its importance as a safe transportation choice....

The fact sheet release coincided with ... National Bike to Work Day, when millions of U.S. residents participated in hundreds of events across the country.

Among the new and key data highlighted in the fact sheet:

• Bicyclists in the U.S. save $4.6 billion per year by riding, instead of driving

• If American drivers replaced just one four-mile car trip with a bike each week for the whole year, it would save more than 2 billion gallons of gas....

More Americans are choosing to bicycle for transportation, but government funding of safe bicycling projects is not keeping up. Though biking and walking account for 12 percent of all trips in the U.S., these transportation modes receive only 1.6 percent of federal transportation spending....

The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is $308 — versus $8,220 for the average car.  New analysis by the League of American Bicyclists shows that bicyclists in the United States save at least $4.6 billion each year by not driving.  Forty percent of all trips are made within two miles of home. Analysis by the Sierra Club shows that if American drivers were to make just one four-mile round trip each week with a bicycle instead of a car, they would save nearly 2 billion gallons of gas. At $4 per gallon, total savings would be $7.3 billion a year.

Investing in bicycle infrastructure is cost-effective. For $60 million — the cost of a single mile of urban highway — the new city-wide bicycle network earned Portland, OR, the highest possible platinum rating as a Bicycle Friendly Community.

More Americans are choosing to bicycle for everyday transportation. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of bicycle commuters grew 40 percent nationwide.  That growth was even greater — 77 percent — in the

largest Bicycle Friendly Communities, as identified by the League of American Bicyclists.  More than 80 percent of Americans support maintaining or increasing federal funding for biking and walking,

Furthermore 33 percent of Americans do not drive at all.

The average American household spends more —16 percent of their budget — on transportation than on  food or healthcare.  Low-income families spend as much as 55 percent of their household budgets on transportation. Transportation options such as bicycling reduce those costs.

For additional information, data and events go to www.bikeleague.org

Source: The Sierra Club http://www.SierraClub.org
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=239643.0
http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/downloads/BikeMonth_Factsheet_0512.pdf

Siemens publishes African Green City Index analyzing 15 major cities in 11 African countries

http://www.siemens.com/press/en/pressrelease/?press=/en/pressrelease/2011/corporate_communication/axx20111209.htm
Cities from the south and the north of Africa deliver the best environmental performance of all major African cities. This is the conclusion of the African Green City Index, a unique study commissioned by Siemens and conducted by the independent research organization Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). During the past months, the EIU analyzed the aims and achievements of 15 major cities in 11 African countries with respect to environmental performance and policies. Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg from the south, Casablanca and Tunis from the north as well as Accra, Ghana, rank above average. "The goal of the African Green City Index is to provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of each city and start a dialogue about best practices in the area of green policies and infrastructures. With the Environmental Portfolio and the new Sector 'Infrastructure & Cities', Siemens is in the best position to support urban areas in Africa with green infrastructures," said Siegmar Proebstl, CEO Siemens Africa. African Green City Index 2011

The African Green City Index examines, for the first time, the environmental performance of African cities in eight categories: energy and CO2, land use, transport, waste, water, sanitation, air quality and environmental governance. The overall result of the study shows that none of the 15 cities rank in the highest band 'well above average'. "Even the best performing cities in Africa have room to improve their environmental footprint," said Delia Meth-Cohn, Editorial Director for Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa at the EIU. Six cities, mainly from the north and the south, scored 'above average', five cities are in the 'average' band, two cities are 'below average' and two cities rank in the lowest band, 'well below average'.

Whereas South African cities scored high on governance and implementing policies, cities from northern Africa are strong in connecting residents to basic infrastructures like water and electricity. In contrast, all sub-Saharan cities, except South African cities and Accra, struggle in the Index. Their immediate focus on providing basic services tends to prevent a focus on long-term sustainability. However, experts agree that sustainable development policies at city level are far from being a 'nice-to-have option', but must go hand-in-hand with solutions to the continent's social and economic problems.

The study also reveals that there is a strong correlation between a city's environmental performance and the percentage of residents living in informal settlements. The fewer residents in a city living informally, the better the city performs. This is crucial for Africa which is urbanizing faster than any other continent and, as a result, is suffering from unplanned urban sprawl. The number of Africa's urban residents more than doubled in the last two decades and they now account for 40 percent of the continent's population. Africa has the world's highest proportion of city dwellers in informal settlements. Among the 15 Index cities, the average percentage of the population living in informal settlements is nearly 40 percent, ranging from an estimated 15 percent in Casablanca to an estimated 70 percent in Maputo.
...
The African Green City Index suggests that good governance is key to environmental performance. The institutional ability to run a city efficiently and intelligently matters more than wealth or the level of economic development. This is contrary to the findings in other Green City Indexes Siemens has published so far which frequently demonstrated a link between wealth and better environmental performance. This suggests that in Africa, a continent where many cities may wait decades for the kind of wealth levels common in other regions of the world, governance is a powerful tool for better environmental performance. A good example is Accra, the capital of Ghana, the only sub-Saharan city (excluding South African cities) that placed above-average in the African Green City Index. It has strong scores for environmental management, with structures in place to work with the national government in implementing policies.
...
The number of urban residents more than doubled in the last two decades to over 412 million and they currently account for 40% of Africa’s population, according to the United Nations Population Division. Within the next decade there will be more urban residents in Africa than in any other continent except Asia. And by 2035 the total number of those living in the continent’s growing cities is expected to double again to 870 million, at which point half of all Africans will live in urban areas.
...
The average level of access to potable water in the African cities is 91%, although the definition of access for Africa does not necessarily mean water piped directly to households or a 24-hour supply, and can include access to a communal tap, for example. Leakage rates are high, at 30%, although not as high as for the Latin American Index, at 35%.  The average for the Asian Index was 22%. It is unclear to what extent leakages or unaccounted-for water in informal settlements are taken into account in the African city data.  Addis Adaba loses 20% to leaks, versus the Index average of 30%.
...

Expenditures on air pollution abatement and mass transit factor into the index.

The Egyptian national government spent US$1.2 billion to improve air quality in Greater Cairo and the rest of the country between 2006 and 2010. ... In 2011 an agreement was signed with the Export-Import Bank of China for a US$270 million loan to double the capacity of the Kpong water treatment plant (on the Volta River, downstream of the Akosombo Dam) – an improvement that will increase the supply of piped water in Accra by 50%....  Tanzania’s minister for water recently announced a US$21 million effort to increase the supply of water to the city by 90% before 2015. The ministry says this will be achieved by rapidly improving sewage treatment, doubling the size of the pumping plants on rivers that supply Dar with water, and drilling large boreholes in and around the city.... The authorities in Johannesburg, thanks to funding from the Danish
Development Agency, have spent US$1.2 million installing solar water heaters in 700 low-cost homes in Cosmo City, a housing development... and the national Department of Water Affairs announced plans to install a US$25 million pump to divert acid mine water from the city’s water sources.... For the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2010 Nairobi’s annual environmental budget was about US$5.9 million, or roughly 5% of  the total annual city authority budget of US$107 million.... Under the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) waste-to-wealth program me, waste is treated not only as a problem but as a potential asset. As a result, currently around 10% of the city’s waste  is converted to other uses. Programs include recycling facilities that turn 30 tonnes a day of plastic and nylon waste into shopping bags, among other items. A paper waste processing plant recycles 10 tonnes of waste daily.  The effort has only just begun. The state government hopes to nearly triple the rate of waste conversion to 35% by 2015. It recently announced that it would be setting up 1,000 recycling banks around the city. 
...
[Metropolitan Cairo] is in the middle of a US$3.7 billion extension that will create two east-west lines to complement the existing ones that run broadly north-south.... The ministry of transport expects that when the second phase is complete within the next two years, the capacity of the whole metro system will rise from 2.5 million passengers daily to 4.5 million.... Tunis is investing US$2 billion in public transport network improvements.... Cape Town has invested US$5.8 billion over the last six years in developing a new bus rapid transit (BRT) network (see “green initiatives”).... In March 2008 bus rapid transit was introduced by the Lagos State government in conjunction with the private sector. This was promoted as an affordable, reliable  and safe means of travelling while significantly reducing congestion on the city’s roads. The buses, running in dedicated lanes, can reduce journey times by 30%. In 2010 there were 220 buses in operation. In its two  years of operation 120 million passengers have used the system, reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 13%....

... The series began in 2009 with the European Green City Index, which identified Copenhagen (Denmark) as the greenest metropolis. In 2010 this was followed by the Latin American Green City Index, where Curitiba (Brazil) came out on top. In 2011, Siemens published the Asian Green City Index with Singapore placing first....
...
On June 30, 2011 San Francisco grabbed the mantle of "greenest" major city in the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, with New York, Seattle, Denver and Boston rounding out the top five U.S. cities. The unique study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and commissioned by Siemens, assesses and compares 27 major U.S. and Canadian cities on environmental performance and policies across nine categories – CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance.

"The Green Cities Index demonstrates that America's cities are the driving force behind the nation's sustainability efforts," said Eric Spiegel, president and CEO, Siemens Corp. "Despite the fact that we do not have a federal climate policy in the United States—and no federal carbon standard—21 of the 27 cities in the index have already set their own carbon reduction targets. Cities are creating comprehensive sustainability plans, utilizing current technology and proving everyday that we don't have to wait to create a more sustainable future."

The study of U.S. and Canadian cities provided some important key findings. Notably, cities that performed best in the rankings are the ones that have comprehensive sustainability plans that encompass every aspect of creating a greener future including transportation, land use, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions, and water. And while there is a correlation between wealth and environmental performance, it is weaker in the U.S. and Canada than in Europe and Asia.

"City budgets are as tight as they have ever been, but mayors are leading the charge around making their cities more sustainable because they know they can't afford to push these decisions off until tomorrow," said Alison Taylor, Chief Sustainability Officer for the Americas, Siemens Corp. "Our goal with the Green City Index is to identify best practices, advance good ideas and provide a baseline for cities to help them set targets for themselves so that they can serve as role models for others with their innovative policies."

The scope of the U.S. and Canada Green City Index is unique. The nine categories are based on 31 individual indicators — 16 of which are quantitative (e.g. consumption of water and electricity per capita, recycling rate, and use of public transportation) and 15 qualitative (e.g. CO2 reduction targets, efficiency standards and incentives for buildings, and environmental governance). A key element of the study is the comparability of the results from each city — within the individual categories and in the overall evaluation. The study also includes in-depth city portraits that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each urban center, while also highlighting initiatives and projects from which other cities can learn.

"Generally speaking, American cities fared well as compared to other global regions in the areas of air and waste policies as well as recycling and water infrastructure," said Tony Nash of the Economist Intelligence Unit. "While public transportation was well-supported and incentivized in a number of cities, it was clear that take up is limited outside of the most densely populated cities. CO2 emissions and electricity use are also notably higher in the U.S., but the evolving policy environment at local, state and national levels are opening up significant areas for improvement."

A panel of global experts in urban environmental sustainability advised the Economist Intelligence Unit in developing the methodology for the study. The 27 cities selected were chosen to represent a number of the most populous metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada. The list includes the top 20 U.S. combined statistical areas, and the top 5 Canadian census metropolitan areas. Expert panelists suggested the addition of Miami and Phoenix due to population and growth rates. Portland did not make the list based on the ranking criteria, but is highlighted in the report.  Addis Addaba has seen major Chinese funded investment in its city roads – an amount estimated at over US$1 billion by 2015. Traffic congestion has eased with the completion of the Chinese- backed Gotera Interchange on the city’s planned ring road. Additionally, plans are underway to build a light rail line, expected to transport 20,000 passengers a day,

Announced at the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival, the U.S. and Canada Green City Index is the fifth study in the Green City Index series. Other indices in the series cover Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Germany.
...
More information can be found at: www.siemens.com/press/greencityindex
Siemens www.Siemens.com
Press Releases dated December 2, 2011 and June 30, 2011
Also see
http://www.siemens.com/press/pool/de/events/2011/corporate/2011-11-african/african-gci-report-e.pdf