Smarter Cities Rankings Strong for Washington
The Smart Cities Rankings produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council are out and the Pacific Northwest fared rather well with Seattle taking first place and Portland in third for the large cities category and Spokane, Eugene, and Everett (!??!?) all posting in the top 15 for Medium Cities. Bellingham even hit the #1 spot for Small Cities.
But what of Tacoma? We landed in 54th out of a total of 176. Take a look. Tell us what you think.
Link to SmartCities.nrdc.org
(via @thricejamie)
Filed under: General
12 comments
J jamie from thriceallamerican July 17, 2009
Tacoma scoring FAIL.
Seems all bass-ackwards to me.
A top-10 ranking for AIR QUALITY OF ALL THINGS among medium cities? That may say it all.
But to give us low scores for recycling, water sources, energy sources while giving Seattle high scores for what I understand to be pretty similar programs boggles my mind.
And low score for open space? Huh? Nuff said there…
Ok, I’ve said my peace. I think…
P P July 17, 2009
The scoring seems to emphasize quantity/diversity of options over quality or effectiveness. For Green Space:
Here’s a question. Did our city complete the survey that was apparently sent to them or did the researchers just use the publicly available websites?
D dolly varden July 17, 2009
@1: No joke about the oddity of Tacoma being in the top 10 for air quality — especially given how nasty the air was over Commencement Bay this morning. Good ol’ Simpson Kraft … you’d think they could cut back a little on hot, stagnant air days like today.
S Squid July 17, 2009
Dolly@3: You think it looks bad? I drive by 2x daily. If my car windows are down I can’t get the stink out. It’s like the Seinfeld BO episode.
A altered Chords July 17, 2009
I love the aroma and have purchased “papermill” scented candles for my living room. My dates love them!
S Sandy July 18, 2009
Altered@#5: Can I get some of those candles? Eau de papermill reminds me off my hometown off the Wisconsin River—should compliment my dioxin antiperspirant nicely!
C Christine July 19, 2009
Simpson can be smelly to be sure, but I remember when it REALLY stunk back in the 70’s and 80’s. If you want real stink, go to the flats on a heavy rendering plant day!
E Elliot July 20, 2009
Come on, now. Tacoma is a lot of things, but smart and progressive isn’t one of them. For example: During the 2.5 years I’ve lived here, I’ve seen zero bike lanes built. In this time, the number in Seattle (where I work and go to school) has just about doubled, with sharrows everywhere you look.
Besides Point Defiance (not technically in Tacoma…) we have a serious dirth of parks other than the occasional playfield. We’ve got terrible particulate matter measurements in the air, the city’s got more strip malls than most any I’ve seen, and almost all of our commerce is done down by the incredibly unwalkable mall.
Additionally, to the claim that Tacoma and Seattle’s recyling programs are similar – come on. Mandatory recycling (if you have too many recyclables in your trash, they won’t take it) has been instituted in Seattle for almost a year. Curbside compost? Yep, they’ve got that, too.
Again, there’s a lot good about Tacoma, but we shouldn’t be fooling ourselves into thinking it’s something it’s not.
O okileggs July 20, 2009
hmmm low scores on energy conservation, greenbelts or parks. Apparently the person talking about 620 acres of Pt Defiance can find the same amount of open space with in multiple locations in Seattle, where. I grew up here, besides the ball fields there is Wright Park, Wapato, Titlow Park, Snake Lake not to mention the trails down by Ruston Way. Water Conservation, look at the yards, energy conservation (I have the light bulbs what about you), recycle (2 bins), yard waste (2 bins), trash can 1. As for the smell, well it’s been worse and quite a bit of it is the bacteria attacking the water logged wood that’s left over from logging back in the day.
E Elliot July 21, 2009
@okileggs
Discovery Park in Seattle by itself is 534 acres. Magnuson Park is 350 acres, and the Arboretum is 230. That’s just the top three, not including Volunteer, Golden Gardens, Gasworks, Ravenna, etc. Pt Defiance is fairly big, but it’s certainly not big enough to hang our hat on to say we’ve got a lot of park space between it and a handful of small parks.
A altered Chords July 21, 2009
If the smell is bacteria attacking water logged wood, then the smell won’t ever go away right? Every time there is heavy rain on Mt. Rainier, more timber rushes down river into the sound right?
The odor is heavy today. I do not need to burn my “papermill” scented candles but I can live with it. I just wish I did not waste my time this morning taking a shower.
D dolly varden July 21, 2009
The rotting wood on the waterfront may smell a bit, but it doesn’t have the distinctive aroma of the paper mill — and it’s just not that bad. The pulp mill aroma, on the other hand, is still present on a pretty regular basis. It has its economic benefits in the form of a decent number of well-paying jobs. But my strong suspicion is that the benefits are short-term and the long-term costs to the city’s reputation (the aroma is still often detectable for everyone driving up and down I-5), quality of life, and potential for economic growth are more significant.