The City of Chicago received a grade of 'B' on its 2007 Green Report Card, compiled by Concious Choice magazine.The city was awarded high marks for efforts to cleanup the Chicago River, promote organic foods, expand parks, and embrace green building practices. But the magazine found room for improvement in the campaigns to improve overall air quality, expand recyling, and build a world class transit system, which received grades of F, C, and B- respectively.
Grades aside, the fact that the media and civic leaders are tracking progress against a list of sustainability goals is impressive on its own. Not many cities around the rusty Great Lakes can credibly make that claim. Even as the successful cities demonstrate that the push toward green building, design, and innovation is a critical component of 21st century prosperity.
