Air Pollution
12th (out of 277)
If you stop to smell the flowers, just don't breathe too deep. Cleveland's stinky finish for year-round particle pollution in the American Lung Associations' 2011 breakdown of the most polluted cities shows there's still work to be done. Breath Savers: California and Ohio both have six metro areas among the top 25 most polluted areas based on year-round particle pollution.
Sustainability
16th (out of 50)
Green city on a blue lake, here we come. Clearly, sustainability is a priority, even more than when SustainLane.com released its rankings back in 2008. That year Cleveland moved up 12 spots and was praised for our local food and agricultural output and our efforts to put a wind farm on Lake Erie. Now we're two years into Mayor Frank Jackson's Sustainable Cleveland 2019 campaign, which focuses each year on one key area of a sustainable economy (this year is energy efficiency) with the goal of making us a national leader. Greenie Points: The third annual Sustainability Summit will be Sept. 22 and 23.
Local Food and Agriculture
2nd (out of 50)
If there's one thing Clevelanders do well, it's jump on the bandwagon — or in this case, the vegetable wagon. In 2008, SustainLane.com had Cleveland trailing only Minneapolis for our bounty of farmers markets and community gardens per capita. We have a bumper crop of farmers markets (34 in Cuyahoga County alone) and a plethora of new community gardens in places such as Bay Village, Shaker Heights and even Westlake's Crocker Park. Digging In: More than 4,000 people in Cuyahoga County participate in community gardens, according to the Ohio State University Extension.
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