No surprise there then ..wonder where Cardiff came? Pretty low I would guess ..being a car orientated city ..
Stockholm is the world's greenest, most livable city, according to a survey carried out by the Reader's Digest magazine.
Using a range of sources, environmental economist Matthew Kahn, from UCLA's Institute of the Environment, ranked 72 major international in terms of how 'green and livable' they are.
Environmental legislation, energy prices, waste production and disposal and available parkland were among the factors considered.
Stockholm was ranked number one, followed by Oslo in second place.
http://www.thelocal.se/8578/
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"You shouldn't boast, but Stockholm is the world's most beautiful city," said mayor Kristina Axén Olin .
"I get happy every time I come back to Stockholm after being away. We probably don't realise what a unique environment we have," she told Aftonbladet.
A third Scandinavian city, Copenhagen, was ranked tenth, but the top ten was dominated by German and French cities.
Munich was third, with Frankfurt (5th), Stuttgart (6th) and Dusseldorf (8th) completing a German quadruple. Paris was rated the fourth most livable city in the world, with Lyon and Nantes in 7th and 9th places respectively.
The first American city to make an appearance was New York, in 15th spot, while London only managed 27th place.
Reader's Digest also ranked countries and, as is usually the case with these kinds of surveys, the Nordic nations grabbed the top spots. Finland was top, given high marks "for air and water quality, a low incidence of infant disease, and how well it protects citizens from water pollution and natural disasters".
Iceland came second, with Norway and Sweden in third and fourth places.
The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)
Living Green
http://www.rd.com/content/greenest-locations-on-the-globe/3/;jsessionid=84A6BE610B0479316CD56C8026A2FD3F.app2_rd1
Ranking the best (and worst) countries.
By Matthew E. Kahn, PhD, and Fran Lostys
From Reader's Digest October 2007
How Countries Rate
Top 5
1. Finland
2. Iceland
3. Norway
4. Sweden
5. Austria
Bottom 5
137. Chad
138. Burkina Faso
139. Sierra Leone
140. Niger
141. Ethiopia
Air Quality
Rates concentration of several pollutants in urban areas
1. Moldova
8. Finland
63. United States
126. Ethiopia
141. Guatemala
The World's Greenest, Most Livable Cities
Using different data, we analyzed 72 major international cities and ranked them in terms of being green and livable. The sources included The Millennium Cities Database for Sustainable Transport (2001) by Jeff Kenworthy and Felix Laube of Australia's Murdoch University, the World Bank's Development Economic Research Group Estimates, and our own reporting on local environmental laws, energy prices, garbage production and disposal, and parkland.
5 Best
1. Stockholm
2. Oslo
3. Munich
4. Paris
5. Frankfurt
5 Worst
68. Bangkok
69. Guangzhou
70. Mumbai
71. Shanghai
72. Beijing
How U.S. Cities Rate
15. New York
22. Washington, D.C.
23. Chicago
26. San Francisco
36. Atlanta
43. Denver
46. Houston
55. San Diego
57. Los Angeles
60. Phoenix
Water Quality
Rates pollutant levels as well as other factors that affect water purity
1. Norway
2. Finland
22. United States
127. Ethiopia
141. Morocco
Greenhouse Gases
Rates carbon emissions per capita and by GDP
1. Chad
18. Ethiopia
75. Finland
107. United States
141. Turkmenistan
Energy Efficiency
Rates conservation efforts and use of renewables such as hydropower
1. D.R. Congo
17. Ethiopia
66. Finland
106. United States
141. Trinidad & Tobago
Environmental Health
Rates childhood mortality, disease; deaths from intestinal infections
1. Austria
8. Finland
125. Ethiopia
16. United States
141. Turkmenistan
