December 08, 2015
How clean is Philly?
According to one expert, considering the city's size and industrial past, the City of Brotherly Love is doing pretty well when it comes to energy efficiency.
A New York Times report published Tuesday looked at how cities around the globe consume energy and found determining which ones do it best is complicated.
However, some usually rise to the top in most measurements. In the United States, for example, wealthy cities like Seattle and San Francisco usually are highlighted.
Excerpts in the field told the Times that it can be difficult to determine because factors like economic development and population density complicate results.
New York City, for example, is rated poorly compared to smaller cities but ranks among the top when its size is taken into account.
Professor of urban planning and policy development at Rutgers University Clinton Andrews told the Times when he's looking at an ideal city, he usually finds mid-sized urban areas, surrounded by farms where people can walk to work.
That example personified on a larger scale is Philly, he told the newspaper:
A larger city that fits the bill for him is Philadelphia, with its pedestrian-friendly downtown, well-functioning mass transit and nearby farms.
It also has chemical plants in the vicinity, Mr. Andrews said. “They’re living with their industrial past and present,” he said. “But they’re finding ways to make the city livable and perform well, even if it’s not the most economically vibrant city.”
You can read the full New York Times piece here.
