Healthy Cities
2 November 2005

A Healthy City is one which supports sustainable growth.

Specifically, this growth is planned and density is favored over sprawl. Typically, a healthy city has alternative means of transit, mixed-use neighborhoods, housing for all income levels, and well-designed public amenitites. The New Colonist has evalutated thier Top Ten Characterisitcs of a Healthy City,, or read more below to learn why we think these select cities have what it takes to promote a healthy lifestyle.

San Francisco, California, USA
San Francisco is a vibrant living city owed greatly to its high density and how this fosters varied methods of mobility. Transit options include bicycle and pedestrian friendly routes, BART, Muni, the famous cable cars and other transbay mass transit systems, and the usual car travel is no longer limited to vehicle owners now that San Francisco’s city care share program is in action. San Francisco’s Transportation for a Livable City implements controversial limitations on parking space to help limit car traffic as it promotes an environment where walking, biking and mass transit are realistically the best transport options. Here you’ll find a city which upholds the American Disabilities Act, universal design principles, and sustainability as a supreme priority.

The city on an island has a special need to maintain appropriate growth principles and San Francisco does so by developing infill housing. Though very few residents have a yard of their own, the city’s Neighborhood Parks Coalition, among others, insures that there is plenty of space to share. Always innovative, San Francisco boasts some of the first green building projects and is a leader in the movement today.

San Francisco enjoys some of the greatest community involvement of any major American city. The San Francisco prize grants public competitions for many municipal urban projects, and the San Francisco Beautiful coalition works to beautify and glorify the urbanity of the city. As part of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco enjoys alliances with other healthy cities, such as Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Alameda, where you’ll find thriving art and music communities, libraries, museums, tool lending libraries, farmers' markets, and the beautiful Lake Merritt.
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Davis, California, USA
Davis, California is situated a mere fifteen minute drive from the state’s capitol Sacramento and about an hour and a half from San Francisco. This city promotes bicycle riding like no other city in the USA. Indeed, Davis makes biking possible by an intense network of bicycle underpasses, integrated bicycle traffic lights, and nearly 15 miles of bicycle-only roads in addition to their ample bike lanes on the city surface streets.

Also notable is Davis’s Village Homes, a development project utilizing practical green building techniques such as passive solar gain, photovoltaic panels, and communal vegetable gardens. Shared recreation areas encourage community interaction while maximizing the substance of precious land. Comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian paths meander through almond orchards and greenbelts eventually linking up to adjacent city pathways.

Davis, like Portland, Oregon, has implemented a greenbelt system around the city confining growth and designating a green area to be maintained for posterity and utility. This has been crucial to the health of Davis’s bountiful farming industry, which requires a boundary between their fields and the pollution of city traffic.
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Portland, Oregon, USA
Since 1994, Portland, Oregon has adopted The World Commission on Environment and Development's definition of sutainability: "Ensuring that we promote a sustainable future that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Indeed, Portland is leading the country with more LEED certified construction projects in progress than any other state. This is a result of the goverment's support by assisting with the permitting process for these types of projects. Portland also popularized the green belt as an urban growth boundary. Portland's Metro, a regional planning authority, keeps growth committed to high density and transit oriented development.

The main form of transportation in Portland, which has very few freeways for a very specific reason, is the 125 mile light rail network. Other mass tranist options are the Portland streetcar, and a comprehensive bus network. Portland's streets are walkable and bikeable since Portland has established 200 miles of bikeways. They have even imitated a European technique: painting the bike lanes blue for greater visibilty and demarcation. For those times when a car is necessary, Portland has Flexcar, the first ever car sharing program which eliminates the need for car ownership.

Portland is also sustainable for its commitment to small business: more than 90 percent of businesses employ fewer than 20 people. This is a result of the local goverment's small business assistance programs, as it is in the city's best interest to keep its small businesses thriving. This keeps Portland's money in Portland, and provides its citizens with the oppurtunity to define the character of the city. Portland, Oregon is an example of how a big city can remain individualized and liveable.
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Only New York City has a more popular mass transit system in all of North America. The Toronto Transit Commission has developed 754 miles of mass transit routes integrating subways, buses and street cars. Like Davis and Portland, Toronto has also implemented a greenbelt system to combat urban sprawl. Overwhelmingly, Toronto is dominated by people; downtown sidewalks teem with pedestrians late into the night-people who actually live in the downtown district. This can be atrributed to its highly successful tranist system as well as its highly diverse neighborhoods.

Within this dense city are more than 200 distinct neighborhoods, indeed Toronto is one of the most multicultural global cities. At least 40 percent of residents are of an immigrant minority, and this group is expected to make up the majority by the year 2015. And yet Toronto maintains one of the lowest violent crime rates in North America despite the diversity. All of this is a result of Toronto’s long history as a city of tolerant human rights policies, and is considered one of the most liberal North American cities even when compared to San Francisco, CA.

The city’s annual Green Toronto Awards recognizes business in eight sectors relating to the health of the city, including Green Design, Leadership, Health, and a Youth category. The winners earn $5,000 to donate to an environmental, non-governmental association of their choice. This organization realizes that citizens have a responsibility to better their city, and ecological issues are at the forefront of this movement.
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Copenhagen, Denmark
One of the most exciting pieces of new and sustainable architecture is currently being built in Copenhagen, Denmark. Santiago Calatrava’s new Turning Torso, to be completed by the end of this year, is a 54 story sky scraper, housing office and living spaces, which will be virtually self-sustainable. It uses 100% renewable energy, and all waste will either be recycled by traditional methods, or converted into energy that will fuel the city’s buses.

Copenhagen is often regarded as a model for US cities looking to make themselves more sustainable. Indeed, Copenhagen aims to be Europe’s ‘environment capitol’, and ‘green audits’ are one system currently being employed to insure this status. The audits illustrate the overall consumption of electricity, water and heat in city-owned properties - including acquisitions, property investments, and the frequency of employees' use of bicycles as transport to and from work.

Like Amsterdam and Davis, Copenhagen places an emphasis on regular and safe bike travel. Bike routes are typically separated from vehicular traffic, and have their own traffic signals and right-of-way priority is granted to bikes over cars. Such amenities are possible because transit planning and funding places equal importance on car, bus, and bicycle traffic. The result is that 32 % of people bike to work in favor of any other method of transportation.
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Capitol of the state of Victoria, Melbourne has been rated the most livable city in Australia by London based publication, The Economist. This survey examines cities’ liabilities in terms of cost of living, climate, infrastructure, diversity, crime rates, health care, social climate, and cultural attributes, and Melbourne has scored second only to Vancouver, Victoria, Canada. Though other Australian cities have also scored high on this survey, some characteristics that distinguish Melbourne are very low crime rates and the best weather in Australia.

For any city to rank this highly, it must have, as Melbourne does, a functional and useful public transit network. Melbourne has one of the world’s most extensive tram networks, well integrated with nearly 300 bus routes and more than 15 train lines. Furthermore, pedestrian pathways help to make this city walkable, and residents and vistors alike enjoy the many parks of Australia’s ‘garden city’. Parks of Melbourne feature native and exotic species, a reflection of the 140 nationalities living side-by-side in this diverse city.

Described as a blend between European and Asian cultures, Melbourne enjoys a harmonious existence benefiting from youthful exuberance and cultural synergy. Since Melbourne is such an affordable city it has become the center of Australian youth culture. This city boasts some of the best public radio stations in Australia, and top fashion, art, and restaurants too. Inexpensive health care and high job security round out Melbourne’s healthy city qualifications.
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Vancouver, Victoria, Canada
Sister city to San Francisco, Vancouver also embraces density, diversity, and public transit. Similarly, Vancouver is a peninsula, surrounded by natural beauty and an abundance of parks. Neighborhood thrive as residents grant stronger allegiance to the district in which they live.

Unlike San Francisco, and most other major metropolises, Vancouver has succeeded because it has removed urban planning decisions from the political realm. This city has empowered its planners to decide how zoning laws should be interpreted, and approvals are based on merit rather than popularity. Furthermore, it is planners who must negotiate with residents to learn how they would benefit from new construction projects. All of this is aided by the Urban Design Panel, an advisory board composed of architects, engineers, landscape architects, planners, and developers.

Like Melbourne, Australia, Vancouver has been recognized by The Economist and has taken the honor of 'most liveable city' away from two-time winner Melbourne. This survey rates cities on a score of 0-100% on 40 criterion, with a score of 0% as optimum. Vancouver earned a slight 1% due to its virtual lack of crime, little threat of terrorism or instability, it extensive infrastructure, its thriving economy, socialized healthcare and education, and exceptional networks with the rest of the world. Indeed, Vancouver is the gateway to the Pacific, always enjoying the benefits of trade with and influx of Asian businesses. Toronto and Calgary are two other Candian cities joining Vancouver in the top ten most liveable cities according to this study.
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Vienna, Austria
Vienna, Austria is commonly known as own of the most desirable places to live world-wide. Truly, it deserves this reputation, with its temperate climate, beautiful public amenities, and thriving economy. With copious venues for employment, leisure, and culture, Vienna is also seat to a number of United Nations offices due to its relatively stable political system. Finally, Austria’s semi-socialized health care provides free preventative care to all citizens.

All Austrians enjoy their proximity to the grand landscape of the Alps, though in Vienna city center, public parks attempt to rival their beauty. Most parks include monuments, always strengthening the connection of modern culture with the city’s rich history. The abundance of parks combined with Vienna’s lack of pollution make it one of the greenest cities in the world.

Part of the reason for Vienna’s low pollution rate is the well-organized system of trams, buses, and trains. Most Viennese do not drive to get around their city. Though the German love of automobiles permeates, most auto traffic is reserved for longer drives on the autobahn rather than daily commutes for work and leisure. Trams are the most popular form of transit, since Vienna claims one of the most extensive networks of this type of mobility. Travelers can transfer almost effortlessly from tram to bus to train, and these networks extend 50 kilometers into the surrounding countryside. This optimized system of transit is enhanced by the city’s low crime rate, making public transportation most popular in Vienna.

Once people arrive in the city, they find Viena to be one of the most culturally rich cities to enjoy. Vienna has an architectural language taken from all major movements in the art, but its examples of Art Nouveau truly stand out. Theater and opera are very important in Austria, and Vienna’s Akademietheater is world renowned for these arts. Vienna is also the educational center of Austria, the site of many universities. And museums such as the Museum of Modern Art house enough art to keep an enthusiast occupied.
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Read 'The Environmental Sustainabilty of Countries of the World' by Chris Johnson of IfPeople.org for comparitive information across five dynamics.