Tucson 20th of largest cities in self-sufficiency
By Staff Reporter
Friday, July 21, 2006
Tucson is 20th out of the 50 largest U.S. cities in self-sufficiency, according to rankings by a San Francisco company that bills itself as a nonpartisan, online resource for healthy, sustainable living.
SustainLane.com ranked Portland, Ore., the most sustainable of the largest U.S. cities. Phoenix was ranked 22nd and Mesa was 47th.
SustainLane's rankings director, Warren Karlenzig, said Tucson's bicycle commuters, community gardeners and local government's knowledge of how to sustain the city pushed Tucson up to No. 20.
Tucson also has a low risk of natural disasters - hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and catastrophic flooding, Karlenzig said.
SustainLane ranked cities in part using data from the 2004 Census and federal reports on air and water quality to compare cities in 15 "sustainability" categories.
