Study: Seattle ranked 7th nationally in urban sustainability

Seattle officials love touting how green and sustainable and sustainably green the city has become, so it’s apt to check in once and while on how all that’s going.

According to a study by real estate site Commercial Cafe, Seattle is seventh in the nation when it comes to progress toward sustainability. The study took into a account a number of factors, including energy-related CO2 emissions reduction, improvements in air quality, the amount of environment-focused occupations, and changes in the amount of walking and biking commuters, among other factors.

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Seattle scored well in increasing the amount of walking and biking commuters, which coincides with Census data showing the biggest drop in drive-alone commuters since the start of the decade. Seattle code that requires commercial and multifamily buildings to incorporate renewable energy systems or be solar-ready fared well as well, as did city strategies to mitigate urban heat islands.

What’s an urban heat island? It’s a metropolitan area that’s warmer than the surrounding rural areas due to concentrated human activities, including all the associated cars and buses.

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The study aimed to “identify the 50 cities in America that are making the largest strides toward improving the lives of their residents, as well as the ease of doing business, by embracing urban sustainability.”

Washington, D.C. finished in first in the sustainability study, followed by New York and Denver. Chula Vista, California came in last.

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