Everybody has a part to play in the movement for environmental justice. From everyday habits, like composting and recycling, to long-term governmental reforms, creating more eco-friendly communities is a goal that’s attainable only through conscious effort and participation. There’s no question that individual actions promoting environmental welfare are important — and perhaps easier to implement in the short term. However, making strides on a broader scale through community-level advocacy and policy is also key to ensuring a sustainable future.
From choosing an eco-conscious vehicle (or minimizing driving altogether), to advocating for and implementing policies that encourage the use of renewable energy, there are some communities whose citizens go above and beyond to promote sustainability. In honor of Earth Day this April, the data science team at Insurify selected the city in each state with the strongest commitment to improving the ecosphere — not just on Earth Day, but every day of the year — as the recipients of the 2021 Greenest Cities Awards.
Image Credit: sl-f/ iStock .
Selection Process for Insurify’s Greenest Cities Awards
To identify the greenest city in each state, the data scientists at Insurify, a site to compare home insurance quotes, referred to both proprietary and publicly accessible data. Cities were ranked based on a composite score of factors including air quality, driving rates, hybrid and electric vehicle prevalence, and whether city officials have established a commitment to renewable energy.
Insurify’s data scientists referred to their database of over 4 million car insurance applications to determine the share of hybrid or electric vehicles across U.S. cities. Driving rates were gleaned from Apple Maps Mobility Report data, which documents the volume of queries sent by drivers to Apple Maps over the past year in each city. Because driving traditional automobiles is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, cities with lower volumes of automobile use received a higher score.
Air quality statistics are from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Data reports. Cities with higher proportions of days where air quality was considered “good” over the past year (meaning that air pollution poses little or no risk) received a higher score. Bonus points were awarded to cities that have made community-wide commitments to transition to 100% renewable energy no later than 2050, as reported by the Sierra Club.
Editor’s note: There is no data this year for Delaware, North Dakota or Vermont.
Image Credit: Insurify.
Alabama
Winner: Tuscaloosa
Image Credit: toddmedia / iStock.
Alaska
Winner: Anchorage
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Arizona
Winner: Scottsdale
Image Credit: Thomas De Wever / iStock.
Arkansas
Winner: Fayetteville
Image Credit: Courtesy of wikimedia.org.
California
Winner: Santa Monica
Image Credit: nata_rass/ iStock.
Colorado
Winner: Longmont
Image Credit: GerardoBrucker / iStock.
Connecticut
Winner: Stamford
Image Credit: DenisTangneyJr/istockphoto.
Florida
Winner: Orlando
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Georgia
Winner: Savannah
Image Credit: iStock.
Hawaii
Winner: Honolulu
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Idaho
Winner: Boise
Image Credit: Mike Worley / iStock.
Illinois
Winner: Chicago
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Indiana
Winner: Kokomo
Image Credit: Cameronloyd03 / WikiMedia Commons.
Iowa
Winner: Ames
Image Credit: EQRoy/shutterstock.
Kansas
Winner: Lawrence
Image Credit: Kansas river, Lawrence, KS by Aude Lising (CC BY-NC-ND).
Kentucky
Winner: Louisville
Image Credit: iStock/alexeys.
Louisiana
Winner: New Orleans
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Maine
Winner: Portland
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Maryland
Winner: Bethesda
Image Credit: GerardoBrucker / iStock.
Massachusetts
Winner: Cambridge
Image Credit: Amy Li / iStock.
Michigan
Winner: Ann Arbor
Image Credit: Courtesy of wikimedia.org.
Minnesota
Winner: Minneapolis
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Mississippi
Winner: Gulfport
Image Credit: dszc/istockphoto.
Missouri
Winner: Kansas City
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Montana
Winner: Missoula
Image Credit: prizrak2084 .
Nebraska
Winner: Grand Island
Image Credit: Brad Mellema / Wiki Commons.
Nevada
Winner: Henderson
Image Credit: cteconsulting / DepositPhotos.
New Hampshire
Winner: Manchester
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
New Jersey
Winner: Trenton
Image Credit: Famartin / Wiki Commons.
New Mexico
Winner: Santa Fe
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
New York
Winner: Syracuse
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
North Carolina
Winner: Chapel Hill
Image Credit: Courtesy of carolinarealtyinc.com.
Ohio
Winner: Columbus
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Oklahoma
Winner: Enid
Image Credit: Дмитрий Ларичев / iStock.
Oregon
Winner: Portland
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Pennsylvania
Winner: Reading
Image Credit: AppalachianViews.
Rhode Island
Winner: Cranston
Image Credit: thisisbossi / iStock.
South Carolina
Winner: Columbia
Image Credit: Kruck20 / iStock.
South Dakota
Winner: Sioux Falls
Image Credit: Geoff Eccles / iStock.
Tennessee
Winner: Franklin
Image Credit: csfotoimages / iStock.
Texas
Winner: Denton
Image Credit: BOB WESTON / iStock.
Utah
Winner: West Jordan
Image Credit: Robby_SixtyTwo.
Virginia
Winner: Arlington
Image Credit: SeanPavonePhoto/ iStock.
Washington
Winner: Seattle
Image Credit: aiisha5 / iStock.
West Virginia
Winner: Charleston
Image Credit: Sean Pavone / iStock.
Wisconsin
Winner: Madison
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Wyoming
Winner: Cheyenne
This article originally appeared on Insurify.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Image Credit: Vasiliymeshko / WikiMedia Commons.
