Last Updated on October 12, 2024 by Dawn Head
While last year might have been the most dramatic year of this century, it taught us many lessons and showed us our effects on the environment. As most of us suspended our travel activities during this time, the desire to get out and explore has grown. Here are some of the most environmentally friendly cities.
Environmentally-Friendly Cities
Bellingham Washington
You won’t be lacking for things to do in this green city. With ample public greenspace, you’ll find you can be outside most every day of the year. Sure, it rains in Bellingham Washington, but there’s usually time each day, especially with a city filled with hiking, lakes and the bay. It’s very accessible.
With miles of bike trails, there are many dedicated bike lanes and bike paths. There is also a bike share program.
With it’s ban on plastic bags, its residents are used to green practices such as composting, gardening, frequenting co-ops and farmers markets, and all around being gentle on the environment.
While not as much of a walkable city as the others, there is also decent public transportation, even in the neighborhoods. However, the downtown area has a bus depot for convenient public transit.
Overall, the sustainability measures and conservation efforts are noticeable. Also, you’ll be so close to the renowned greenest city, Vancouver, Canada. It’s just a 45 minute drive.
New York USA
New York, NY, is among the most popular cities in the United States, in North America, and the world. From the breathtaking attraction sites to amazing architecture, and rich culture, New York is famous for more than a dozen reasons. It is highly reputed for eco-friendliness and sustainability.
Various programs have been put in place to make it a green city, including the NYC carbon challenge that seeks to reduce carbon emissions that cause air pollution. Other initiatives include the GreeNYC and the Zero Waste Program, not to mention energy efficiency enforcement laws.
Cool Places in New York for Green Travelers
As you can see in the image below showing data collated by Compare the Market, New York is one of the top 10 most visited cities in the world and has a Pollution Indicator on City Environments (PICE) equal to Dubai.
Berlin Germany
Who doesn’t know Berlin? It is said to be one of the most popular cities globally, with a population of 3.47million people. Over the years, the Germans have evolved to become extremely self-sufficient.
They are moving toward completely kicking out gas-powered cars by 2030 and replacing them with electric cars. Can you imagine how clean their air is? They also have a focus on being a bike-friendly city.
Apart from clean air, some other reasons to visit Berlin include:
- Breathtaking green spaces
- An amazing nightlife
- Lots of things to see and do
- Rich culture and history to learn
- The beer is great
Madrid Spain
By the mention of the name Madrid, what comes to mind? Football? Most definitely. This is the home of the famous Real-Madrid, and besides its glory on the pitch, it is one of the world’s greenest cities on the planet. Most of the city’s investments are on infrastructure, which has greatly boosted its architectural attractions and plant life.
The citizens of this place have embraced environmental conservation activities that help make the world a better place. Here, leisure activities are mostly powered by energy-saving and environmentally friendly options like solar-powered tour boats. Environmentally friendly, hybrid and electric vehicles are also pretty common in Madrid.
They also have a green theme park.
San Francisco California
This Californian city is the sixth most eco-friendly worldwide. With a population of 860,000 people, the residents can ensure an affordable and sustainable lifestyle with a focus on renewable sources. You will realize that the lower the population, the more eco-friendly the place becomes.
They are the first city to ban plastic water bottles. They also ban plastic bags.
3 Green Days in San Francisco with Kids
Its national authorities aim to have a clean and safe environment for its citizens and tourists. They educate their citizens about waste management, making it easy to protect the environment. They are also pushing towards banning specific products like plastic bags and bottles for more beneficial environmental results.
Seoul South Korea
As far as major cities, another top green city is Seoul in South Korea. It’s considered the second most sustainable city in all of Asia. With mountains and rivers, to explore, they have efforts to fight climate change.
They have done a lot to revamp their public transportation system, making it accessible to more commuters. Seoul is working to minimize greenhouse gas emissions by promoting walking and cycling as well.
Some things they are doing include:
- Revival of Han River
- Creating green spaces
- Diesel vehicle emissions reduction
- No driving day campaigns; car-free days
- Efforts in recycling; greater availability of recycling
- Minimizing food waste programs
- Campaigns for clean alleys
- Street dust cleaning
- Monitoring air quality with Fine Dust Forecast & Warning Systems
- Sunlight City Project
- Landfill recovery
- Focus on tap water supply
Conclusion
The world as it is today needs to adopt eco-friendly alternatives as far as human activity is concerned. Energy consumption continues to increase. Many green cities are proactively working to reduce emissions per capita to safeguard natural resources.
Protecting the environment will not only benefit us today, but it will benefit our future generations even more. It helps curb various environmental problems like global warming and climate change.
Towns and cities are taking steps to source renewable energy, such as solar energy and constructing commercial wind farms.
It just feels great traveling to a city that embraces green living! Choosing to visit eco-friendly cities who focus on sustainability efforts can help to minimize your impact.