Vegas 47th of 50 in urban sustainability ranking

By Cydney Cappello

Monday, Sept. 22, 2008 | 12:56 p.m.

Las Vegas took the No. 47 spot among the nation's 50 largest cities in a ranking released today on urban sustainability. The city fell from the 27th spot in last year's ranking.

SustainLane Media bases its ranking on 16 economic, environmental and "green" categories, factoring in a city's ability to maintain healthy air, drinking water, parks and public transportation systems, among other qualities.

The Top 3 cities on the list were Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Seattle. At the bottom, the only three cities below Las Vegas were Tulsa, Okla., Oklahoma City and Mesa, Ariz.

The ranking found several trends in cities that rank high, such as increased bicycling, revitalization of downtowns, increased train use, mainstreaming the "green" movement, alternate energy usage and high numbers of neighborhood community groups.

Despite Las Vegas' low ranking, SustainLane Media wrote that the city is making improvements.

"In a unique strategy to curb consumption, the (Southern Nevada Water Authority) pays residents $1.50 for every square foot of lawn converted to drought tolerant landscaping," the organization wrote on its Web site. "The program has been a success; $80 million dollars has been paid out to participants, saving an estimated 20 billion gallons of water a year."

SustainLane began releasing the ranking in 2005.