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Green Revolution Sweeping Through U.S. Cities

Neil Peirce of the American Prospect sums up sustainable practices in several American cities,

Neil Peirce of the American Prospect sums up sustainable practices in several American cities,

A “green revolution” is burgeoning in America’s cities and towns.

If the new, green, urban alchemy has an epicenter, it’s Chicago. A big share of the credit goes to Mayor Richard J. Daley and his allies. There’s a green roof on City Hall and greenery along roadway medians stretching out into the neighborhoods. Asphalt schoolyards have been converted to grass, vacant lots turned into community gardens, greenways and wildlife habitat nurtured.

Out across the nation, there’s fast-growing demand for public transit to save energy and transit-oriented development to curb sprawl. The move for major regional rail systems has now reached far beyond New York and Chicago, Boston and San Francisco to traditionally auto-dependent cities like Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Houston, and even Los Angeles.

Photo is of the green roof on Chicago City Hall’s: FrancisDre/Flickr

Photo of Jason Varone
Jason Varone battles the streets everyday during a 9 mile commute on his bicycle from downtown Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. In addition to his efforts on Streetsblog, he is an artist making work related to the environment and technology. Examples of his work can be found at www.varonearts.org.

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