Top 5 Greenest Cities to Visit before the year ends!

“Eco-friendly” is the buzzword for the cities across North America today. There is a growing desire among many people to visit eco-friendly cities to relax in green-space areas, admire wildlife reserves and see the modern, green culture being fast adopted by the denizens. Here are the top 5 greenest cities for you to visit in North America before the year ends.

San Francisco, California 

San Francisco is the top ranked environmentally-conscious city presently in North America. It is also among the most frequented tourist destinations in the United States. San Francisco is home to over 860,000 people, and carved a niche for itself for its remarkable waste management, conservation and sustainability initiatives. Most of the buses plying in the city are zero emissions. The city administration has said that all the buses will switch to hybrid diesel by the year 2020. The other mode of public transportation, including ride share cars comprises of cleaner-air vehicles. San Francisco is also making concerted efforts to become first city in the United States to be waste-free by 2020. The city has already implemented laws which strongly recommend composting, necessitates recycling and banned use of plastic bags. The San Francisco Bay Area’s Open Space Council hopes that it will succeed in its efforts to preserve two million acres of trails, parks and farmlands for continuous sustainability for the area by 2025.

New York City, New York 

New York City though has one of the largest populations in North America, but it still has the lowest percentage of commuters driving out of any city in North America. The Green Infrastructure Program implemented by the New York City administration has helped the city dedicate itself to several eco-friendly practices, such as creating rain gardens, green roofs, and proper water drainage along streets and sidewalks. The New York City Department of Parks ^ Recreation has created the Forever Wild Program for protecting nearly 9,000 acres of natural and wildlife habitats. The initiative is aimed at making New York City one of the eco-friendliest cities in North America offering abundant natural green space for tourists and residents, sustainability for its population, and for nature to thrive.

Austin, Texas 

Austin with its nearly 950,000 inhabitants is not only one of the most North America’s populated cities, but also one of the eco-friendliest as well. Austin invariably attracts large number of tourists from different parts of the world with its beautiful lakes and parks. The most remarkable fact about Austin is that the city’s founders started conservation tactics during the initial phases of its development, thus leading to its current sustainability. The Green City Initiative has also been developed by Austin city administration for protecting its environment by placing more trees along streets, reducing vehicle emissions, and conserving energy. A program is also being developed by the city administration for helping homeowners and public land owners to create and preserve natural habitats that would aid in the preservation of wildlife. Apart from this, more than 32,000 acres of parks and wildlife areas have been purchased by the city administration for ensuring no harm to endangered species.

Portland, Oregon 

Portland, situated on the U.S. West Coast in the State of Oregon, is home nearly 300 public parks with over 37,000 acres of green space, and a large number of farmer markets. Oregon has become the first state in the United States to usher in a recycling revolution by implementing the policy of refundable deposits on cans and bottles. Portland is presently recycling about 63 percent of its waste and has one of the highest LEED-buildings per capita in America. The most prominent feature in Portland is hundreds of miles of bike lanes making it quite appealing for travel lovers to get around the city effortlessly and efficiently

Honolulu, Hawaii

The stunning coast of Honolulu offers endless opportunities for adventure to quintessential tourists. Apart from being a prime tourist destination in the United States, Honolulu is also one of the foremost ecofriendly destinations in North America. The city presently has the highest rate of solar panels per capita in the United States. Honolulu is home to many eco-friendly hotels. Many restaurants in the city are also ocean-friendly certified, which means using only reusable silverware, no plastic bags to be given out, no styrofoam, and implementing recycling.