New York is ranked overall 26th out of 100 cities surveyed, and Toronto comes in at 33rd. What can the relatively high-scoring New York City learn from the similarly successful Toronto?

1. WHAT NEW YORK CITY
COULD LEARN FROM
TORONTO ABOUT
SUSTAINABILITY
BENNAT BERGER

2. Whilecitieshavebeencoinedgreenand
smart,whatreallymakesacitysustainable?

3. Recentsurveysgenerallygivescoresinthree
categories:people,planet,andprofit,
accordingtoArcadis’sSustainableCities
Index,assembledbytheLondon-based
CenterforEconomicsandBusinessResearch.

4. TheSustainableCitiesIndex
operatesonascalefrom
100.NewYorkisranked
overall26thoutof100cities
surveyed,andToronto
comesinat33rd.However,
thecities’ scoresarenotfar
offfromeachother:New
Yorkscored62.9% overall,
andToronto61.7%.

5. Specifically,whatcantherelativelyhigh-
scoringNewYorkCitylearnfromthe
similarlysuccessfulToronto?

6. Thecities’ sub-scoresrevealamoredetailed
makeup:inthepeoplecategory,Toronto
actuallybeatNewYork,withasub-scoreof
62.3% comparedtoNewYork’s53.4%,
placingthem40thand77thoutof100cities.

7. Theyscoredsimilarlyintheplanetsection:
Torontoat68.1% andNewYorkat66.1%,
ranking28thand33rdinthiscategory.

8. TheprofitcategoryexplainswhyNew
YorkoutranksTorontoontheIndex:New
Yorkscored69.3% inthiscategoryand
Torontoscored54.8%,leavingthemat
8thand38thinthissection.

9. SoifNewYorkistolooktoTorontofor
waystoimproveitssustainabilityscore,
theplanetandparticularlythepeople
sub-scoresgivesomeindication.

10. Eachcity’sratinginthepeoplesub-
sectioniscomprisedofscoresinseveral
sub-categories:education,health,
demographics,incomeinequality,
affordability,work-lifebalance,andcrime.

11. ThebiggestdiscrepanciesbetweenToronto
andNewYorkcanbefoundinincome
inequality(10.7% > 6.5%); crime(13.2% >
10.1%); andaffordability(7.1% > 0.2%).

12. Theplanetsub-scoreisbasedon
environmentalrisks,greenspaces,
energy,airpollution,greenhouse
gasemissions,wastemanagement,
drinkingwaterandsanitation.

13. Themostsignificantdifferencesbetween
TorontoandNewYorkhereareenvironmental
risks(9.9% > 7.6%); energy(8.6% > 6.5%); and
airpollution(13.4% > 12.1%).

14. Torontohasbeenespecially
successfulinenergyefficiency,
wastemanagement,andwater.

15. Torontoisoneofthetopthreecitiesfor
ensuringarobust,effective,andhealthy
watersupply,whileNewYork’sresources
areconsideredmorevulnerable.

16. Indeed,thereporthighlightssomeof
NewYork’sperceivedweaknesses,
includingpoverty,anoverburdened
transportationinfrastructure,andrising
sealevelsforecastingmorestorms,
flooding,andothernaturaldisasters.

17. Toronto,ontheotherhand,willhaveto
dealwitha25% populationincrease
expectedinthenext15years.

18. “Accordingtoareportpresentedbythe
city,Torontohasreducedgreenhousegas
emissionsby25% since1990andexpects
toimprovethatnumberto30% by2030
evenamidthecity`spopulationgrowth,
whichhasseenthemetropolitanareaswell
tosixmillionasofFebruary2015.”

19. Hopefullythesesustainabilityassessments
andmetricsencouragecitiesaroundthe
globetolearnfromeachotherandthemyriad
issuesfacedbysuchcomplexcosmopolitan
organismsinthecomingcentury.

20. w w w . b e n n a t b e r g e r . c o m